CERN's massive facility restarting operations from the fall of 2009
100,000 ADI converters used in the Hadron Collider
Provides speed, accuracy, and high performance even in harsh environments

June 24, 2009 -- The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is expected to use the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to uncover the secrets of the birth of the universe, also known as the Big Bang. This research, which reveals the creation and workings of the universe through the debris generated from the collision of sub-atomic particles, was temporarily suspended but is scheduled to resume in the fall of 2009, and more than 100,000 Analog Devices data converters will play a crucial role in the LHC.

“Our laboratory needs reliable converters that can withstand high radiation levels and function properly for decades. In this regard, ADI’s data converters play an important role inside the LHC,” said CERN Resource Manager Hans Rykaczewski.

"The energy emitted by collisions using the LHC is converted into a digital data stream, after which it is measured and analyzed. Analog Devices' converters provide the speed and dynamic range necessary to measure the energy captured by a single 64,000-lead tungstate crystal. These crystals will measure the energy of photons, electrons, and positrons," he further explained.

CERN, one of the world's leading scientific research centers, is an institution that studies particles, the fundamental building blocks of matter, using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. Physicists study the interactions that occur when these particles collide to understand the laws of nature. The LHC is located in a suburb of Geneva, Switzerland, inside a tunnel 27 km in circumference at a depth of 100 meters underground.

The LHC accelerates two beams of subatomic particles called 'hadrons' (proton beams or lead ion beams) in opposite directions in a circular accelerator to amplify their energy in every lap. Physicists use the LHC to make the two beams collide head-on at very high energies, and the particles generated are detected and analyzed by special devices.

CERN selected ADI's AD9042 high-speed, low-power 12-bit ADC for use in detection devices. Data converters are key components that convert phenomena such as light, sound, temperature, motion, and pressure into electrical signals used in various electronic devices. Analog Devices is the world's leading company in the data converter sector, boasting a 45%* global market share.