The “Electronic Installation Equipment and Devices” (EA) group provides the infrastructure required to operate the detector and read-out electronics. It includes power supply, control and air conditioning as well as the manufacture, laying and connection of cables. Special skills here are:

• Switchgear and automation systems
• Sensor systems (e.g. voltage, current, temperature, flow)
• Control engineering (PLC)
• High-voltage and power electronics

The “Electronics Development” (EE) group is responsible for designing innovative circuits. To this end, the electronics experts develop highly-specialized components for signal detection, conditioning and processing. These are precisely custom-tailored to the demands of various physics experiments – and are thus the only ones of their kind anywhere in the world. Key points here are:

• Low-noise analog switching and amplification systems
• Digital signal processing, e.g. with processors or programmable chips (FPGAs)
• Development of products for extreme operating conditions, e.g. low temperatures or radiation
• Broad range of knowledge, skills and tools

Electronic components are manufactured in the “Electronics Production” (EP) group. The work ranges from the production of individual prototypes through to small to medium-sized batches of assemblies - to upgrade the muon chambers in the ATLAS experiment, for example. Different technologies are used, depending on the application:

• Automated component insertion on printed circuit boards
• Soldering in the reflow oven or vapor-phase soldering system
• Bonding prior to interconnecting semiconductor components
• Thick-film technology to produce ceramic substrates