LOW MASS LOW POWER RADIATION RESISTANT PIXEL MODULES
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Particle physicists wish to reconstruct with high fidelity and 100% efficiency the trajectories of the products from physics interactions. For this the secret for success is well known: high-resolution minimal mass detector systems. While modern carbon composites, and novel cooling concepts enable a lower mass system, the key to low mass is a low power detector module.
This project addresses the key elements to obtain a low power pixel assembly by replacing the sensor element with a CMOS sensor. The CMOS sensor will also replace the first stage of the analogue amplification. This will reduce the power dissipated in the sensor and the readout electronics.
The CMOS sensors to be developed is based on an application of the HVCMOS technology commonly used for automotive electronics control. The HVCMOS sensor has a depleted sensing volume that allows fast and full charge collection even after irradiation. This is unlike most CMOS sensor technologies which rely on a slower drift process that is significantly affected by non-ionizing radiation damage.
The ROIC will still be used to process the data from the sensor as done in a standard pixel hybrid assembly. The advantage of this is to allow the full power of the ROIC to be utilized.
The HVCMOS sensor is attached with a simple glue joint to a standard Particle physics readout pixel chip. The signal is capacitivly coupled from the HVCMOS sensor to the ROIC. This simple assembly procedure, and cheap sensor, will significantly reduce the cost of the production of pixel modules which will allow them to be used more widely in particle physics experiments. Therefore extending the physics reach of a given experiment.
As the assembly procedure is very straight forward, gluing two items together, it will be possible to thin both the devices down to 50-100 micrometers each which will result in a mass reduction in the module.
This project addresses the key elements to obtain a low power pixel assembly by replacing the sensor element with a CMOS sensor. The CMOS sensor will also replace the first stage of the analogue amplification. This will reduce the power dissipated in the sensor and the readout electronics.
The CMOS sensors to be developed is based on an application of the HVCMOS technology commonly used for automotive electronics control. The HVCMOS sensor has a depleted sensing volume that allows fast and full charge collection even after irradiation. This is unlike most CMOS sensor technologies which rely on a slower drift process that is significantly affected by non-ionizing radiation damage.
The ROIC will still be used to process the data from the sensor as done in a standard pixel hybrid assembly. The advantage of this is to allow the full power of the ROIC to be utilized.
The HVCMOS sensor is attached with a simple glue joint to a standard Particle physics readout pixel chip. The signal is capacitivly coupled from the HVCMOS sensor to the ROIC. This simple assembly procedure, and cheap sensor, will significantly reduce the cost of the production of pixel modules which will allow them to be used more widely in particle physics experiments. Therefore extending the physics reach of a given experiment.
As the assembly procedure is very straight forward, gluing two items together, it will be possible to thin both the devices down to 50-100 micrometers each which will result in a mass reduction in the module.
Planned Impact
The principal beneficiaries of this project will be the particle physics community through the development of a new cost-effective hybrid pixel detectors. The development such technologies has broader applications within science such as imaging at synchrotron sources and space missions, which can exploit the large area sensors with minimal dead area and/or the low power and mass of these innovative pixel modules.
Although the development of innovative detector technologies may appear somewhat remote to broader society, the results of the science that such technologies enable often have significant impact on society. The recent discovery of the Higgs' boson has captured the public's imagination and has, at least partially, to an increase in the number of young people pursing a physics degree. This built on a 10 year programme of detector development to build the world's biggest experiment: ATLAS. Similarly, the potential application of these detectors at synchrotron sources will impact on the society through the development of new materials, an increased understanding of biological processes and structures of drugs.
Although the development of innovative detector technologies may appear somewhat remote to broader society, the results of the science that such technologies enable often have significant impact on society. The recent discovery of the Higgs' boson has captured the public's imagination and has, at least partially, to an increase in the number of young people pursing a physics degree. This built on a 10 year programme of detector development to build the world's biggest experiment: ATLAS. Similarly, the potential application of these detectors at synchrotron sources will impact on the society through the development of new materials, an increased understanding of biological processes and structures of drugs.
Publications
Aaboud M
(2019)
Modelling radiation damage to pixel sensors in the ATLAS detector
in Journal of Instrumentation
Affolder A
(2016)
Charge collection studies in irradiated HV-CMOS particle detectors
in Journal of Instrumentation
Bates R
(2015)
ATLAS pixel upgrade for the HL-LHC
Berdalovic I
(2018)
Monolithic pixel development in TowerJazz 180 nm CMOS for the outer pixel layers in the ATLAS experiment
in Journal of Instrumentation
Fadeyev V
(2016)
Investigation of HV/HR-CMOS technology for the ATLAS Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Han Y
(2020)
Study of CMOS strip sensor for future silicon tracker
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Hiti B
(2019)
Charge collection in irradiated HV-CMOS detectors
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Huffman B
(2016)
Radiation hardness of two CMOS prototypes for the ATLAS HL-LHC upgrade project.
in Journal of Instrumentation
Kanisauskas K
(2017)
Radiation hardness studies of AMS HV-CMOS 350 nm prototype chip HVStripV1
in Journal of Instrumentation
Liang Z
(2016)
Study of built-in amplifier performance on HV-CMOS sensor for the ATLAS phase-II strip tracker upgrade
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Miucci A
(2014)
Radiation-hard Active Pixel Sensors for HL-LHC Detector Upgrades based on HV-CMOS Technology
in Journal of Instrumentation
Peric I
(2014)
High-voltage pixel sensors for ATLAS upgrade
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Pernegger H
(2017)
First tests of a novel radiation hard CMOS sensor process for Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors
in Journal of Instrumentation
Description | We have developed and tested HV-CMOS sensors for particle physics. The development lead to the conclusion that the technology is possible to be used for the upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector system. The HVCMOS is an official back-up solution for the ATLAS ITk upgrade. A new design is being developed, which our group is working on, for the ITk. Research that has taken place since this funding has ended includes an EU ITN PhD student (Lluis Simon) and a CERN funded PHD student (Leyre Flores). They have worked with the CERN microelectronics design team to develop a HV-CMOS detector for the ATLAS HL-LHC experiment. This development has resulted in a demonstrator being produced. The two PhD students continue with their research and make good progress. A recent international review of the work concluded that it "recognizes the excellent quality of the R&D work done within the CMOS group that will be important for future applications" however due to schedule impacts they will not be taken forward as the baseline for the ATLAS HL-LHC upgrade. it is kept as a back-up option. |
Exploitation Route | Yes. It is possible that the the HV-CMOS devices can be used in other particle physics groups and also in other applications including proton therapy machines and a range of radiation detection applications. We continue to work on the technology for particle physics and spin-out applications inside the EU ITN. We will make further funding applications to allow us to play a leading role in this technology in the future. |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Education,Electronics,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
URL | https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/Atlas/HVHRCMOSPixelUpgrade#Introduction |
Description | We have an EU ITN on the back of this work, and other work in this area, that involves serval non-UK companies working the field o radiation detection and measurement. see https://stream.web.cern.ch STREAM, Smart Sensor Technologies and Training for Radiation Enhanced Applications and Measurements, is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions within Horizon 2020 involving partners from Austria, CERN, France, Germany, Switzerland and UK. STREAM is a career development network on scientific design, construction and manufacturing of advanced radiation instrumentation. It targets the development of innovative radiation-hard, smart CMOS sensor technologies for scientific and industrial applications. The platform technology developed within the project will be tested in the demanding conditions posed by the CERN LHC detectors' environment as well as European industry leaders in field of CMOS imaging, electron microscopy and radiation sensors. This leveraging factor will allow to fine-tune the technology to meet the requirements of industrial application cases on demand such as electron microscopy and medical X-ray imaging, as well as pathway towards novel application fields such as satellite environments, industrial X-ray systems and near-infrared imaging. STREAM will train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative ESRs and widen their academic career and employment opportunities. The network structures the research and training in five scientific work-packages, which span the whole value-chain from research to application. WP1: Management WP2: CMOS Technologies Assessment WP3: Smart Sensor Design and Layout WP4: Validation and Qualification WP5: Technology Integration WP6: Valorization |
First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Education,Electronics,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme |
Amount | £92,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | European Union |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 07/2015 |
End | 07/2019 |
Description | Fast timing silicon pixel detectors for new applications |
Amount | £112,694 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/T002751/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2019 |
End | 09/2021 |
Title | Micron sized focused X-ray beam scanning of semiconductor devices |
Description | We have developed a new method to understand the charge collection inside a pixel sensor with the use of a micron focused X-ray beam. This has been performed at the Diamond Light source and we hope that we will be able to develop an in-house system with an X-ray tube. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This method has been used for Diamond detectors at Manchester, silicon strip detectors for ATLAS with international groups including DESY and CNM Barcelona. |
Description | CERN |
Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
Department | CERN LHC ATLAS |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We are in a joint research programme to develop HVCMOS pixel detectors for the development of pixel detectors for the ATLAS HL-LHC upgrade. CERN have provided CMOS design effort and contributed money towards the fabrication of the wafers. We are performing characterisation work on the devices. we are using our irradaition facility to irradiated the detectors and our characterisation suite to characterise them before and after irradiation. we have also bid for Diamond beam time to allow us to characterise them at a synchrotron. We have in addition performed particle beam tests at CERN. |
Collaborator Contribution | CERN have provided CMOS design effort and contributed money towards the fabrication of the wafers. They have also supported the particle beam tests at CERN. |
Impact | https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/Atlas/HVHRCMOSPixelUpgrade#Introduction |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Diamond light source |
Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have a CASE award with them |
Collaborator Contribution | They have given us access to their labs and beam lines and supported our research via a CASE award |
Impact | CMOS detector characterisation Pixel sensor characterisation technique |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | School Visits |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Various school visits to give talks and demonstrations of pixel detectors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012,2013,2014,2015 |
Description | school visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | School visits by the PDRA employed on this project. Several school visits have been arranged and presented at during the grant period. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017 |
Description | talks at science festivals |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentations have been made to science festivals by the PDRA employed on this project. He has given talks and given interactive presentations of his work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017 |