Response of a silicon strip detector to protons and pions with momenta of 270, 310 and 405 MeV/c

We have measured the response of a silicon detector to pions and protons with momenta of 270-405 MeV/c. Many of these particles will be produced in the proton-proton collisions at the LHC and due to the strong magnetic field in the CMS tracker volume particles with these relatively low momenta will traverse the detector planes at different angles. To study the detector response under these conditions we have varied the angle of incidence in a test beam from 0 degrees to 70 degrees . The data were analysed in terms elf the signal, the signal- to-noise (S/N) ratio and the number of strips in a cluster. In addition a simulation is shown, which extrapolates the test beam data, obtained using low noise electronics, to a scenario with lower S/N ratio. The latter is expected to represent the conditions in the LHC experiments, due to radiation damage and the use of fast readout electronics. (4 refs).