In this article we describe the architecture of the Module Controller Chip for the ATLAS Pixel Detector. The project started in 1997 with the definition of the system specifications. A first fully-working rad-soft prototype was designed in 1998, while a radiation hard version was submitted in 2000. The 1998 version was used to build pixel detector modules. Results from those modules and from the simulated performance in ATLAS are reported. In the article we also describe the hardware/software tools developed to test the MCC performance at the LHC event rate.

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Unencapsulated aluminum wedge wire bonds are common in particle physics pixel and strip detectors. Industry-favored bulk encapsulation is eschewed due to the range of operating temperatures and radiation. Wire bond failures are a persistent source of trackingdetector failure. Unencapsulated bonds are vulnerable to condensation-induced corrosion, particularly when halides are present. Oscillations from periodic Lorentz forces are documented as another source of wire bond failure. Spray application of polyurethane coatings, performance of polyurethane-coated wire bonds after climate chamber exposure, and resonant properties of polyurethane-coated wire bonds and their resistance to periodic Lorentz forces are under study for use in a future High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider detector such as the ATLAS Inner Tracker upgrade.

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