Electrical Properties of Carbon Fiber Support Systems

Carbon fiber support structures have become common elements of detector designs for high energy physics experiments. Carbon fiber has many mechanical advantages but it is also characterized by high conductivity, particularly at high frequency, with associated design issues. This paper discusses the elements required for sound electrical performance of silicon detectors employing carbon fiber support elements. Tests on carbon fiber structures are presented indicating that carbon fiber must be regarded as a conductor for the frequency region of 10 to 100 MHz. The general principles of grounding configurations involving carbon fiber structures will be discussed. To illustrate the design requirements, measurements performed with a silicon detector on a carbon fiber support structure at small radius are presented. A grounding scheme employing copper-kapton mesh circuits is described and shown to provide adequate and robust detector performance.