Power distribution for SLHC trackers: Challenges and solutions

The inner tracking detectors of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) detectors consume tens of kilowatts of power. Getting power from the rack supply to the detectors has proved to be challenging, inefficient and cumbersome. At Super-LHC (SLHC), the traditional approach of delivering power for each detector module independently will fail. Solving the power distribution problem at SLHC has been recognized as a critical challenge, and significant R&D effort is being devoted to solving it. There are a number of promising concepts, including serial powering and parallel powering combined with local DC-DC conversion, which will be discussed in this introduction and overview article.