Test bench for front end electronic of the GCT camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Abstract

The Gamma Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is a design proposed to be part of the Small Sized Telescope (SST) array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The GCT camera is designed to record the flashes of atmospheric Cherenkov light from gamma and cosmic ray initiated cascades, which last only a few tens of nanoseconds. The camera thus needs very fast and compact electronics, addressed by the TARGET modules, based on homonymous ASICs which provide digitation at 1 GSample/s and the first level of trigger on the analog output of the photosensors. In this paper we describe a test bench lab set up to evaluate the performance and functionality of the camera' s front end electronics with an added educational value.