This report reviews current trends in the R&D of semiconductor pixellated sensors for vertex tracking and radiation imaging. It identifies requirements of future HEP experiments at colliders, needed technological breakthroughs and highlights the relation to radiation detection and imaging applications in other fields of science.
Significant progress has been made to develop silicon pixel technologies for use in the vertex and tracker regions of the proposed Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) detector design. The electron-positron collisions generated by this linear accelerator provide a clean, low-radiation environment for the inner detectors. However, physics-driven performance targets, the CLIC beam structure, and occupancies from beam-induced backgrounds place challenging requirements on detector technologies for this region. A pixel pitch down to 25 x 25$mu$m$^{-2}$, material budget $leq$ 0.2-2$%X_0$ per layer, average power dissipation of down to 50mWcm$^{-2}$, position resolution of 3-7$mu$m, and timing resolution as low as 5ns are called for in the vertex and tracking detectors. To this aim, a comprehensive R&D programme is ongoing to design and test silicon pixel detectors to fulfil these specifications, including both monolithic and hybrid devices. These studies involve Allpix$^2$ Monte Carlo and TCAD simulations, advanced 65nm ASIC and sensor design, laboratory testing, and beam tests of individual modules to determine the required performance parameters. The characterisation and simulation modelling of these devices has also lead to the development of a set of tools and software within the CLIC detector and physics (CLICdp) collaboration. This publication will present recent results from the technologies being developed and tested in view of the CLIC vertex and tracking detector requirements, such as various monolithic CMOS sensors, and fine pitch hybrid assemblies with planar sensors.
In order to achieve the challenging requirements on the CLIC vertex detector, a range of technology options have been considered in recent years. One prominent idea is the use of active sensors implemented in a commercial high-voltage CMOS process, capacitively coupled to hybrid pixel readout chips. Recent results have shown the approach to be feasible, though more detailed studies of the performance of such devices, including simulation, are required. The CLICdp collaboration has developed a number of ASICs as part of its vertex detector R&D programme, and here we present results on the performance of a CCPDv3 active sensor glued to a CLICpix readout chip. Charge collection characteristics and tracking performance have been measured over the full expected angular range of incident particles using 120 GeV/c secondary hadron beams from the CERN SPS. Single hit efficiencies have been observed above 99% in the full range of track incidence angles, down to shallow angles. The single hit resolution has also been observed to be stable over this range, with a resolution around 6 $mu$m. The measured charge collection characterstics have been compared to simulations carried out using the Sentaurus TCAD finite-element simulation package combined with circuit simulations and parametrisations of the readout chip response. The simulations have also been successfully used to reproduce electric fields, depletion depths and the current-voltage characteristics of the device, and have been further used to make predictions about future device designs.
DEPFET pixel detectors are unique devices in terms of energy and spatial resolution because very low noise (ENC = 2.2e at room temperature) operation can be obtained by implementing the amplifying transistor in the pixel cell itself. Full DEPFET pixel matrices have been built and operated for autoradiographical imaging with imaging resolutions of 4.3 +- 0.8 um at 22 keV. For applications in low energy X-ray astronomy the high energy resolution of DEPFET detectors is attractive. For particle physics, DEPFET pixels are interesting as low material detectors with high spatial resolution. For a Linear Collider detector the readout must be very fast. New readout chips have been designed and produced for the development of a DEPFET module for a pixel detector at the proposed TESLA collider (520x4000 pixels) with 50 MHz line rate and 25 kHz frame rate. The circuitry contains current memory cells and current hit scanners for fast pedestal subtraction and sparsified readout. The imaging performance of DEPFET devices as well as present achievements towards a DEPFET vertex detector for a Linear Collider are presented.
We report the status of R&D on large triple-GEM detectors for a forward tracker (FT) in an experiment at a future Electron Ion Collider (EIC) that will improve our understanding of QCD. We have designed a detector prototype specifically targeted for the EIC-FT, which has a trapezoidal shape with 30.1 degrees opening angle. We are investigating different detector assembly techniques and signal readout technologies, but have designed a common GEM foil to minimize NRE cost for foil production. The assembly techniques comprise either a purely mechanical method including foil stretching as pioneered by CMS but with certain modifications, or gluing foils to frames that are then assembled mechanically, or gluing foils to frames that are then glued together. The first two assembly techniques allow for re-opening chambers so that a GEM foil can be replaced if it is damaged. For readout technologies, we are pursuing a cost-effective one-dimensional readout with wide zigzag strips that maintains reasonable spatial resolution, as well two-dimensional readouts - one with stereo-angle (u-v) strips and another with r-phi strips. In addition, we aim at an overall low-mass detector design to facilitate good energy resolution for electrons scattered at low momenta. We present design for GEM foils and other detector parts, which we plan to entirely acquire from U.S. companies.
An overview of the present and foreseen R&D activities of the Spanish network for future accelerators aiming to participate in the design and construction of the forward tracker and vertex detectors of the Future Linear Colliders, is shown.