Micromegas For Imaging Hadronic Calorimetry

The recent progress in R&D of the Micromegas detectors for hadronic calorimetry including new engineering-technical solutions, electronics development, and accompanying simulation studies with emphasis on the comparison of the physics performance of the analog and digital readout is described. The developed prototypes are with 2 bit digital readout to exploit the Micromegas proportional mode and thus improve the calorimeter linearity. In addition, measurements of detection efficiency, hit multiplicity, and energy shower profiles obtained during the exposure of small size prototypes to radioactive source quanta, cosmic particles and accelerator beams are reported. Eventually, the status of a large scale chamber (1 x 1 m(2)) are also presented with prospective towards the construction of a 1 m(3) digital calorimeter consisting of 40 such chambers.