Development of Radiation-Hard Single-Sided Silicon Pixel Detectors using Planar p-type Technology
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN already requires unprecedented radiation hardness because of the very high collision rate (billion proton-proton collisions per second) required to produced the rare high mass new particles for which the LHC was built to search. The radiation levels get worse the closer a detector sits to the collision point with the innermost detector systems, pixel detectors, being only a few cm away. After its first phase of operation, the LHC could be upgraded to search for even rarer or higher mass new particles by increasing this collision rate by a factor of 10. The dose rates then experienced in the layers closest to the collisions get a factor of 10 worse. Given that it is assumed standard technologies can barely serve for current operation at the LHC, groups have been looking to exotic alternatives for these innermost layers. A surprising result from work by the Liverpool Group when studying miniature microstrip detectors, with application further away from the centre of the experiment, was that they key parameter for operation as a particle detector, the charge collection efficiency, does not completely die away even at very high doses. Indeed, with p-type sensors but only planar processing, it looks possible to build detectors in much less exotic technologies that could work even at about 4cm from the primary collision point. It is proposed to translate this technology into the pixel designs needed at these low radii and to demonstrate survival at the doses expected there using pixel read-out electronics from ATLAS. The Liverpool Group are world experts at this sort of radiation testing for microstrips and wish to exploit their findings to demonstrate an alternative technology for the pixel detectors of ATLAS and CMS operating at the upgraded luminosity (Super-) LHC. If successful, it allows simpler technology which can be built by the leading world companies in providing silicon detectors to particle physics, with implications for both reliability and cost. It also allows the pixel detector array to be built in a uniform technology, rather than have special and different technology for the innermost layers. This should both help lead to a cheaper solution and allow many more companies (including UK ones) to compete for the production of silicon sensors for pixel detectors at the Super-LHC.
Publications
Affolder A
(2009)
Studies of charge collection efficiencies of planar silicon detectors after doses up to and the effect of varying diode configurations and substrate types
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Allport P
(2013)
Results with p-type pixel sensors with different geometries for the HL-LHC
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Casse G
(2014)
Recent achievements of the ATLAS upgrade Planar Pixel Sensors R&D project
in Journal of Instrumentation
Casse G
(2009)
Overview of the recent activities of the RD50 collaboration on radiation hardening of semiconductor detectors for the sLHC
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Casse, Gianluigi,Affolder, A.,Allport, P.P.,Brown, H.,Wiglesworth, C.
(2009)
New operation scenarios for severely irradiated silicon detectors
Casse, Gianluigi,Affolder, A.,Allport, P.P.,Wormald, M.
(2008)
Measurements of charge collection efficiency with microstrip detectors made on various substrates after irradiations with neutrons and protons with different energies
Casse G
(2013)
Degradation of charge sharing after neutron irradiation in strip silicon detectors with different geometries
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Casse G
(2008)
Comparison of charge collection efficiency of segmented silicon detectors made with FZ and MCz p-type silicon substrates
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Affolder A
(2009)
Charge Collection Efficiency Measurements of Heavily Irradiated Segmented n-in-p and p-in-n Silicon Detectors for Use at the Super-LHC
in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
Tsurin I
(2011)
Characterisation of "n-in-p" pixel sensors for high radiation environments
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Description | With this research we have improved the performances of high resolution, extreme radiation tolerance silicon pixel sensors. These are the baseline for the future upgrade of the ATLAS experiments at the HL-LHC (the upcoming high luminosity collider that will improve the performances of the current LHC). We have proven their ability to sustain the radiation fluence anticipated for the experiments on this future machine. The detector type we developed is now baseline for may experiments where high radiation tolerance is required. |
Exploitation Route | The technology we have developed and the methods we used have become part of the global knowledge of the detector community in high energy physics. The very high level of performances achieved make the researched devices suitable to a range of applications outside high energy physics. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Electronics Energy Healthcare Security and Diplomacy |
Description | The technology is now baseline design for detector upgrades in high energy physics experiments (ATLAS, LHCb, CMS). In this sense the impact of this development is very high and ongoing. |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
Sector | Electronics,Other |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Improved tools for science (HEP) |
Geographic Reach | Asia |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | CERN |
Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
Department | Physics Department |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Supervision of the PhD project. Scientific direction. |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-supervision of the PhD. Help and support for experimental work at the CERN premises. |
Impact | Shared scientific results, presentation to conferences and workshops, publications, impact on detector technology. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | CERN/RD50 |
Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
Department | CERN - Other |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Spokesperson of the collaboration. Consistent amount of research for development of advanced instrumentation for high energy physics experiments. The collaboration involves 48 institutes from Europe, US and Asia and over 250 scientists. |
Collaborator Contribution | R&D on extreme radiation tolerant semoconductor sensors. Contribution to common funds for research. Several papers published. |
Impact | Several papers and common R&D paojects, carried out partially with funding from the collaboration. |