The read-out electronics of the AMS prototype RICH detector

A Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) counter dedicated to the AMS experiment is under development. An integrated circuit has been designed with the Austriamicrosystems 0.6 μm CMOS technology to process the signals of the 16 anode PMTs used in the photon detection. To improve the detector compactness, the read-out electronics is placed very close to the PMTs. This lead to the design of a detection cell that comprises: a light guide, a PMT, a high-voltage divider, an analog front-end chip and an analog to digital converter. The analog front-end chips were extensively and successfully tested in a laboratory environment, 96 of them are now mounted on the RICH prototype. Tests with cosmic rays have started. Ion beam tests are planed in a near future.