Read-out electronics for fast photon detection with COMPASS RICH-1

A new read-out electronics system has been developed for the fast photon detection of the central region of the COMPASS RICH-1. The project is based on multi-anode photomultipliers read out by the high-sensitivity MAD4 preamplifier-discriminator and the dead-time free F1 TDC chip characterised by high time resolution. The system has been designed taking into account the high photon flux in the central region of the detector and the high rate requirement of the COMPASS experiment. The system is described in detail together with the measured performances. The new electronics system has been installed and used for the 2006 data taking; it entirely fulfils the expected performances.