Beam-loss damage experiment on ATLAS-like silicon strip modules using an intense proton beam

Abstract

The ATLAS detector community is entering in the final stages of sensor development for the future upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). An increase by an order of magnitude of the LHC luminosity, up to 1035 cm−2s−1, will lead to an increased radiation dose delivered to the detector, especially for the devices located in the Inner Tracker. In 2018, an experimental study of the damages induced by a beam-loss over silicon strip detectors was done in the High-Radiation to Materials facility at CERN. A progressive number of proton bunches was extracted from the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron, and focused directly over the strip sensor, in order to emulate the large amount of charge typically generated in a beam-loss failure. This work presents the results obtained during this experiment, showing that Punch-Through Protection effectively protects the AC-coupling capacitors of the silicon sensors from large charge accumulations, but still this scenario could induce damages on the read-out electronics.