Operation aspects of CDF tracking and vertexing detectors

Abstract: The CDF Run II tracking and vertexing detectors consist of a large cylindrical drift chamber (COT) and a combination of three silicon detector components. An unexpected wire aging problem was found in the COT in late 2003 which resulted in substantial gain drop in the inner layers. Hydrocarbon growth was found to be the cause of aging, and the performance of the COT was fully recovered by adding 100ppm oxygen to the standard chamber gas. The silicon detector contains eight layers of double-sided silicon microstrip sensors. Our experiences with commissioning and operating this complex device and the performance of the detector are reviewed. As the luminosity delivered by the Tevatron has increased, measurable effects of radiation damage have been observed. Recent studies of the change of full depletion voltage versus integrated luminosities are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]