The ATLAS TRT straw proportional tubes: Performance at very high counting rate

Results on analog front-end electronics and straw performance studies at high counting rates are described. Prototypes of the electronics have been tested at counting rates up to 17.5 MHz. A drift-time accuracy of 180 mu m and a drift-time measurement efficiency of 53% were obtained at 17.5 MHz. The expected counting rate is between 5 and 15 MHz (depending on straw position) for the ATLAS straw tracker at LHC design luminosity, leading to an estimated drift-time accuracy at 160 mu m and hit registration efficiency of 68% for the average counting rate of 10 MHz. These results are in a good agreement with detailed MC simulations and could be improved with better front-end electronics.