Electronic Modules

The Electronic Modules (EM) section provides centralized services for CERN’s electronics community for the layout design, prototype board assembly, industrialization and production of electronic circuit boards and modules.

  • The layout service is handled by the design office, which prepares complete production documentation based on IPC standards and guidelines. The design office is as well in charge of the editing and follow-up of the component libraries used by the two CAD software products in use, namely Altium and Cadence.
  • PCB manufacturing files, assembly procedures as well as mechanical accessories or chassis are conceived following state-of-the-art industrial standards to allow for an efficient subcontracting of the production. PCB manufacturing is frequently outsourced to companies which have been technically audited and selected based on production volumes and complexity requirements. For prototypes and specific developments, the section closely collaborates with CERN’s in-house PCB manufacturing facility in the EP-DT-EF group.
  • The EM section also operates an assembly workshop on CERN’s Meyrin site, providing services for prototype assembly within a short lead time. Thanks to the qualified personnel and modern infrastructure, the workshop provides work of the highest quality which is in line with industrial services available through outside companies. As for PCB manufacturing, the assembly of larger assembly batches is outsourced to qualified companies.
  • The assembly workshop is specialized in rework and modification operations, as well as the recovery of high value or rare parts. When required, the workshop is able to support customers who require failure analysis related to assembly or manufacturing issues.
  • For repairs of irradiated electronics, the section operates a dedicated workshop in a specially equipped controlled area in building 867 on CERN’s Prévessin site. In addition to all required tooling for a variety of rework and repair operations, the workshop offers dedicated workplaces to electronics sections/groups in case of need.
  • The section closely collaborates with the EP department for the assembly of the large Micro-Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs) like Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) manufactured by the EP-DT-EF section. Several users of the physics community profit from the sections expertise to industrialize future detector assemblies related to the silicon based technologies like Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM).