LPC Physics Forum - Colin Crovella and Gabi Hamilton

Thursday 30 Apr 2026, 13:00 → 14:00 US/Central

Sunrise (WH11NE) (FNAL/Zoom)

https://cern.zoom.us/j/96898909340
email lpc-pf@fnal.gov (from your Institute email) for Zoom password

30April2026_LPCPhysicsForum_Colin_Crovella_and_Gabi_Hamilton.mp4

13:00 → 13:30 ECON 301: Automated Robotic Testing for the ECON ASIC for the HGCAL Upgrade

The upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider to the High Luminosity LHC brings with it much higher rates of data, and experiments such as CMS must be upgraded to compensate. The Endcap Concentrator (ECON) ASIC is a data concentrator for the High Granularity Hadronic Calorimeter (HGCAL) front-end electronics, sending compressed data to the Level-1 Trigger and the HGCAL DAQ. Sensitivities in the manufacturing process results in not all of the manufactured ECON chips being robust to high radiation or other extreme conditions during data-taking. To deliver the necessary chips for the upgrade, we run a suite of automated tests on each chip, delivered via an FPGA board. We employ a custom-built robot, consisting of a vacuum suction toolhead moving in three dimensions, to move chips on and off of the testing board and to sort chips by testing grade. We discuss the chip yields, as well as several ways we have improved our procedures to increase speed and reliability.

Speaker: Colin Carncrose Crovella (University of Alabama (US))

Colin_Crovella_ECON301_PhysicsForum_Apr30_2026.pdf

13:30 → 14:00 Cassette-Level Assembly and Commissioning for HGCAL Endcap

Commissioning a fully integrated HGCAL cassette requires combining dozens of detector modules, readout links, and power delivery systems. It presents challenges at every stage: rapid module powering and configuration, automated link synchronization and validation, and performance characterization under operating conditions. This talk covers the full pipeline for cassette assembly and commissioning at Fermilab's test facilities, from assembly through cold validation. We discuss infrastructure developed to bring multiple modules online quickly and reliably, automated link alignment techniques for ensuring data integrity across the cassette, diagnostic tools for identifying integration-level failures and the lessons learned from the critical validation when cold testing at -35°C.

Speakers: Gabriela Hamilton, Gabriela Hamilton (University of Virginia)

animations expanded ECON 401_ Applied ECON Putting It All Together.pdf