Design and initial tests of the Tracker-converter of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope

The Tracker subsystem of the Large Area Telescope (LAT) science instrument of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) mission has been completed and tested. It is the central detector subsystem of the LAT and serves both to convert an incident gamma-ray into an electron–positron pair and to track the pair in order to measure the gamma-ray direction. It also provides the principal trigger for the LAT. The Tracker uses silicon strip detectors, read out by custom electronics, to detect charged particles. The detectors and electronics are packaged, along with tungsten converter foils, in 16 modular, high-precision carbon-composite structures. It is the largest silicon-strip detector system ever built for launch into space, and its aggressive design emphasizes very low power consumption, passive cooling, low noise, high efficiency, minimal dead area, and a structure that is highly transparent to charged particles. The test program has demonstrated that the system meets or surpasses all of its performance specifications as well as environmental requirements. It is now installed in the completed LAT, which is being prepared for launch in early 2008.