4-Dimensional Tracking with Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors

The evolution of particle detectors has always pushed the technological limit in order to provide enabling technologies to researchers in all fields of science. One archetypal example is the evolution of silicon detectors, from a system with a few channels 30 years ago, to the tens of millions of independent pixels currently used to track charged particles in all major particle physics experiments. Nowadays, silicon detectors are ubiquitous not only in research laboratories but in almost every high-tech apparatus, from portable phones to hospitals. In this contribution, we present a new direction in the evolution of silicon detectors for charge particle tracking, namely the inclusion of very accurate timing information. This enhancement of the present silicon detector paradigm is enabled by the inclusion of controlled low gain in the detector response, therefore increasing the detector output signal sufficiently to make timing measurement possible. After providing a short overview of the advantage of this new technology, we present the necessary conditions that need to be met for both sensor and readout electronics in order to achieve 4-dimensional tracking. In the last section we present the experimental results, demonstrating the validity of our research path.Comment: 72 pages, 3 tables, 55 figure

Enhancing the heavy Higgs signal with jet-jet profile cuts

The jet-jet profile, or detailed manner, in which transverse energy and mass are distributed around the jet-jet system resulting from the hadronic decay of a $Z$ boson in the process Higgs$\to ZZ$ at a proton-proton collider energy of 40\tev is carefully examined. Two observables are defined that can be used to help distinguish the $\ell^+\ell^-$-jet-jet signal from Higgs decay from the ``ordinary'' QCD background arising from the large transverse momentum production of single $Z$ bosons plus the associated jets. By making cuts on these observables, signal to background enhancement factors greater than $100$ can be obtained.Comment: 16 pages, Univ. Florida IFT-93-

4D tracking with ultra-fast silicon detectors

The evolution of particle detectors has always pushed the technological limit in order to provide enabling technologies to researchers in all fields of science. One archetypal example is the evolution of silicon detectors, from a system with a few channels 30 years ago, to the tens of millions of independent pixels currently used to track charged particles in all major particle physics experiments. Nowadays, silicon detectors are ubiquitous not only in research laboratories but in almost every high-tech apparatus, from portable phones to hospitals. In this contribution, we present a new direction in the evolution of silicon detectors for charge particle tracking, namely the inclusion of very accurate timing information. This enhancement of the present silicon detector paradigm is enabled by the inclusion of controlled low gain in the detector response, therefore increasing the detector output signal sufficiently to make timing measurement possible. After providing a short overview of the advantage of this new technology, we present the necessary conditions that need to be met for both sensor and readout electronics in order to achieve 4D tracking. In the last section, we present the experimental results, demonstrating the validity of our research path

Using the hadronic multiplicity to distinguish real W’s from QCD jet backgrounds

In order to study WW scattering or the decay of a heavy standard-model Higgs boson in the TeV region, it is necessary to use the channel W(→lν)+W(→jets). However, techniques are required for suppressing the severe background from mixed electroweak-QCD production of W+jets. We demonstrate that the charged multiplicity of the events can provide an extremely useful tool for distinguishing a jet system originating via real W decay from a jet system produced by the mixed electroweak-QCD processes. Analogous techniques will be useful for any process involving W’s→jets, whenever the W decaying to jets has pt≫mW and the primary background produces jets predominantly in a color-nonsinglet state; however the precise procedure must be optimized separately for each such process

A Prototype Front-End Readout Chip for Silicon Microstrip Detectors Using an Advanced SiGe Technology

The upgrade of the ATLAS detector for the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC will require a rebuild of the Inner Detector as well as replacement of the readout electronics of the Liquid Argon Calorimeter and other detector components. We proposed some time ago to study silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technologies as a possible choice for the required silicon microstrip and calorimeter front-end chips given that they showed promise to provide necessary low noise at low power. Evaluation of the radiation hardness of these technologies has been under study. To validate the expected performance of these technologies, we designed and fabricated an 8-channel front-end readout chip for a silicon microstrip detector using the IBM 8WL technology, a likely choice for the ATLAS upgrade. Preliminary electrical characteristics of this chip will be presented

Comparison of 35 and 50 {\mu}m thin HPK UFSD after neutron irradiation up to 6*10^15 neq/cm^2

We report results from the testing of 35 {\mu}m thick Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors (UFSD produced by Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK), Japan and the comparison of these new results to data reported before on 50 {\mu}m thick UFSD produced by HPK. The 35 {\mu}m thick sensors were irradiated with neutrons to fluences of 0, 1*10^14, 1*10^15, 3*10^15, 6*10^15 neq/cm^2. The sensors were tested pre-irradiation and post-irradiation with minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) from a 90Sr \b{eta}-source. The leakage current, capacitance, internal gain and the timing resolution were measured as a function of bias voltage at -20C and -27C. The timing resolution was extracted from the time difference with a second calibrated UFSD in coincidence, using the constant fraction method for both. Within the fluence range measured, the advantage of the 35 {\mu}m thick UFSD in timing accuracy, bias voltage and power can be established.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, HSTD11 Okinawa. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1707.0496

Radiation Hardness of Thin Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) are based on a n++-p+-p-p++ structure where an appropriate doping of the multiplication layer (p+) leads to high enough electric fields for impact ionization. Gain factors of few tens in charge significantly improve the resolution of timing measurements, particularly for thin detectors, where the timing performance was shown to be limited by Landau fluctuations. The main obstacle for their operation is the decrease of gain with irradiation, attributed to effective acceptor removal in the gain layer. Sets of thin sensors were produced by two different producers on different substrates, with different gain layer doping profiles and thicknesses (45, 50 and 80 um). Their performance in terms of gain/collected charge and leakage current was compared before and after irradiation with neutrons and pions up to the equivalent fluences of 5e15 cm-2. Transient Current Technique and charge collection measurements with LHC speed electronics were employed to characterize the detectors. The thin LGAD sensors were shown to perform much better than sensors of standard thickness (~300 um) and offer larger charge collection with respect to detectors without gain layer for fluences <2e15 cm-2. Larger initial gain prolongs the beneficial performance of LGADs. Pions were found to be more damaging than neutrons at the same equivalent fluence, while no significant difference was found between different producers. At very high fluences and bias voltages the gain appears due to deep acceptors in the bulk, hence also in thin standard detectors

New drift chamber for the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider

The design of the new cylindrical drift chamber for the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider is described. Prototype tests to determine the working parameters of the chamber and to study possible gas mixtures are discussed