Tracking with <f>40×40 cm2</f> MICROMEGAS detectors in the high energy, high luminosity COMPASS experiment

Large size <f>40×40 cm2</f> gaseous microstrip MICROMEGAS detectors are used for the charged particle tracking in the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The commissioning was performed using a 160 GeV muon beam of up to <f>1.5×108</f> particles per SPS spill. Position resolution of <f>&les;70 μm</f> and timing resolution of <f>&les;10</f> ns are achieved. A printed circuit board of <f>60×120 cm2</f> surface and <f>100 μm</f> thickness allows to move the front-end electronics components outside of the spectrometer acceptance, hence keeping the amount of material within acceptance minimum. These detectors fulfill the stringent requirements of the COMPASS spectrometry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]