The International Linear Collider (ILC), proposed to be build in Japan, is an electron-positron linear collider with an initial centre-of-mass energy of 250 GeV. The accelerator is based on the technology of super-conducting radio-frequency cavities. The ILC physics programme will start by measuring the Higgs properties, providing high-precision and model-independent determinations of its parameters. Additionally, direct searches for new physics will also be possible, e.g. in exotic Higgs decays and in pair-production of weakly interacting particles. The use of polarised electron and positron beams opens new capabilities and scenarios that add to the physics reach. The ILC can be upgraded to higher energies, enabling precision studies of the top quark as well as measurements of the top Yukawa coupling and the Higgs self-coupling.
The International Large Detector (ILD) is a detector concept developed for the ILC. The detector has been optimised for precision physics in a range of energies up to 1 TeV. The paradigm of particle flow has been the guiding principle of the design of the ILD. The detector features a high precision tracking system -- combining a silicon vertex detector and inner tracker and a large volume, gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC) -- as well as a high granularity calorimeter, both located within the coil of a 4 T solenoid magnet.
In this talk I will first present an overview of the design features and choices going into the accelerator and the detector concept and continue by showing more detail on the TPC. I will conclude with the development work done during my PhD, which focused on the development of readout prototypes and the validation of the achievable spatial and momentum resolution as well as the energy loss measurement.
