Performance studies of resistive Micromegas detectors for the upgrade of the ATLAS Muon spectrometer

With the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC the ATLAS Muon spectrometer will face increased particle rates, requiring an upgrade of the innermost end-cap detectors with a high-rate capable technology. Micromegas have been chosen as main tracking technology for this New Small Wheel upgrade. In an intense R&D and prototype phase the technology has proven to meet the stringent performance requirements of highly efficient particle detection with better than 100 μm spatial resolution, independent of the track incidence angle up to 32°, in a magnetic field B≤0.3T and at background hit rate of up to 15 kHz/cm2.