TORCH - Cherenkov and Time-of-Flight PID Detector for the LHCb Upgrade at CERN

TORCH is a large-area precision time-of-flight detector, based on Cherenkov light production and propagation in a quartz radiator plate, which is read out at its edges. TORCH is proposed for the LHCb experiment at CERN to provide positive particle identification for kaons, and is currently in the Research-and-Development phase. A brief overview of the micro-channel plate photon sensor development, the custom-made electronics, and an introduction to the current test beam activities is given. Optical readout solutions are presented for the potential use of BaBar DIRC bar boxes as part of the TORCH configuration in LHCb.