The

In a fusion-evaporation reaction, nuclei are produced by evaporating light-charged particles and neutrons from the compound nucleus. Typically, a nucleus of interest is produced as a result of a part of the total cross-section and, in order to guarantee a good channel discrimination, a particle detector, like the EUCLIDES $4\pi$ Si-ball array, is necessary. EUCLIDES has been quoted in more than a hundred publications resulting from many experiments performed in combination with the EUROBALL and GASP $\gamma$-ray spectrometers. The present paper reports on the upgraded version of EUCLIDES, that is presently coupled to the new GALILEO $\gamma$-ray spectrometer, installed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, INFN. The design, characteristics and performance of the EUCLIDES array are presented and discussed