THE DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE-AREA MICROMEGAS DETECTORS FOR THE ATLAS UPGRADE

The upgrade of the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN calls for a new generation of muon detectors capable of operating in a flux of collision and background particles approximately ten times larger compared to today's conditions. We report here on the Muon ATLAS MicroMegas Activity (MAMMA) R&D project aimed at the construction of large-area spark-resistant muon chambers using the micromegas technology.