A $B_4C$-silicon target for the detection of neutrino interactions

This note describes the construction of a target for neutrino interactions composed of passive boron carbide plates interleaved with silicon microstrip detectors. The target contains four layers of passive material with a total mass of 45 kg and 600 single--sided silicon microstrip detectors with a total surface of 1.14 m$^2$ distributed over five layers. It is installed in the NOMAD spectrometer at the CERN SPS neutrino beam. During the 1997 run about 8000 \nm\ charged current interactions were estimated to have occurred in the target. For these events it will be possible to perform a precise measurement of both vertex and kinematical variables. This will provide invaluable experience towards the construction of a future large scale silicon tracker for neutrino oscillation experiments.