Development of prototype luminosity detector modules for future experiments on linear colliders

The main objective of this dissertation is to develop and validate the prototype module of the LumiCal luminosity detector. The dissertation presents the works executed from the first detector concept, through all subsequent R&D stages, ending with the test beam results obtained using the complete detector module. Firstly, the linear electron positron colliders and planned experiments are introduced, together with their role in our understanding of the basis of matter and sensing for the New Physics. The signal extraction from radiation sensors and further signal processing techniques are discussed in chapter 2. Besides the commonly accepted techniques of amplitude and time measurements, a novel readout implementation, utilizing digital signal processing and deconvolution principle, is proposed, and its properties are analyzed in details. The architecture, design, and measurements of the LumiCal readout chain components are presented in chapter 3. A dedicated test setups prepared for their parameterization are described together with the results of extensive measurements. Finally, the construction of two prototype detector modules is presented in chapter 4. The first module comprises of limited functionalities, while the second one features all functionalities. The design considerations and performance results of these two modules are followed by the test beam results.