  In triple-GEM detectors, the segmentation of GEM foils in electrically
independent sectors allows reducing the probability of discharge damage to the
detector and improving the detector rate capability; however, a segmented foil
presents thin dead regions in the separation between two sectors and the
segmentation pattern has to be manually aligned with the GEM hole pattern
during the foil manufacturing, a procedure potentially sensitive to errors.
  We describe the production and characterization of triple-GEM detectors
produced with an innovative GEM foil segmentation technique, the ``random hole
segmentation'', that allows an easier manufacturing of segmented GEM foils. The
electrical stability to high voltage and the gain uniformity of a random-hole
segmented triple-GEM prototype are measured. The results of a test beam on a
prototype assembled for the Phase-2 GEM upgrade of the CMS experiment are also
presented; a high-statistics efficiency measurement shows that the random hole
segmentation can limit the efficiency loss of the detector in the areas between
two sectors, making it a viable alternative to blank segmentation for the GEM
foil manufacturing of large-area detector systems.
