SPIROC: design and performance of a dedicated very front-end electronics for an ILC Hadronic CALimeter (HCAL) prototype with SiPM read-out

International audienceThe SPIROC chip is a dedicated very front-end electronics to read out a prototype of the Analog Hadronic Calorimeter (AHCAL) equipped with Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) for ILC (International Linear Collider). A first prototype of SPIROC has been fabricated in 2007 and a second version in 2010. Many testbench and testbeam measurements have been performed showing a good overall behaviour. However some limitations have been encountered. A new version has been submitted in February 2012 to correct them and to improve the ASIC performances. After an exhaustive description of the ASIC, the performances will be presented in this paper