First test of cold edgeless silicon microstrip detectors

Silicon microstrip detectors will provide the forward tracking in the TOTEM experiment at the LHC. To allow efficient tracking closest to the beam (≈1 mm) these detectors should be sensitive up to their physical edge (i.e. edgeless). Edgeless (without guard rings) microstrip planar detectors can be operated at cryogenic temperatures (about 130° K) where leakage currents due to the active edge are drastically reduced. A silicon microstrip prototype, cut perpendicular to the strips, has been tested with a pion beam at CERN to study its efficiency close to the edge by using reference tracks from a simple silicon telescope. Results indicate that the detector measures tracks with good efficiency up to the physical edge of the silicon.