Double-sided Silicon Strip Detectors Research Articles

Investigation of proton radiation damage effects on the n-Fz DSSSD for the Phase I Upgrade of new Si Tracker at the R3B experiment

Radiation hard Double Sided Silicon Strip Detectors are used at the Silicon Tracker for the detection of two-dimensional position andenergy measurement of the incident protons in the R3B experiment at FAIR. Double Sided Silicon Strip Detectors were fabricated by Micron Semiconductor Ltd., U.K. and the first set of experimental measurements havebeenperformed on the non-irradiated detectors in order to understand the macroscopic performance of the detectors for the tracker. This study is extended to the performance of the irradiated detectors in the proton radiation environmentusing proton radiation damage model. The detectors were irradiated with 23 MeV protons up to an expected fluence of 8 × 1014 neq cm-2, which is one order higher than expected fluence at an initial phase0 of the experiment. The performance characteristics of the detectors on the full depletion voltage, leakage current, and charge collection efficiency were extrapolated using SRH and CCE modelling, which is usually implemented in device TCAD. The results on the detectors were compared with the available experimental data on the detectors. A very good comparison between experimental data and calculated resulthave been recorded for non-irradiated and irradiated detectors. The agenda is to propose a proton radiation hard Double Sided Silicon Strip Detector design on the basis of the present study for the phase 1 upgrade of the experiment.

Novel device to study double-alpha decay at the FRS Ion Catcher

A novel system has been developed to detect simultaneous double-alpha emission from purified and weightless sources. The system includes the collection of 224Ra low-energy recoils in purified helium buffer gas from the decay of 228Th. The recoil products are thermalized and collected in a cryogenic buffer gas cell and extracted into an RF-ion guide for mass selection. The mass-separated ions are implanted at low kinetic energy into a thin carbon foil placed between two large-area double-sided silicon strip detectors to observe correlated alpha-particle emission. The apparatus is described in detail, including insights into its experimental performance.

Decay spectroscopy at the two-proton drip line: Radioactivity of the new nuclides 160Os and 156W

The radioactivity of 76160Os84 and 74156W82 that lie at the two-proton drip line has been measured in an experiment performed at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä. The 160Os nuclei were produced using fusion-evaporation reactions induced by a beam of 310 MeV 58Ni ions bombarding a 106Cd target. The 160Os ions were separated in flight using the recoil separator MARA and implanted into a double-sided silicon strip detector, which was used to measure their decays. The α decays of the ground state of 160Os (Eα = 7092(15) keV, t1/2 = 97−32+97 μs) and its isomeric state (Eα = 8890(10) keV, t1/2 = 41−9+15 μs) were measured, allowing the excitation energy of the isomer to be determined as 1844(18) keV. These α-decay properties and the excitation energy of the isomer are compared with systematics. The α decays were correlated with subsequent decays to investigate the β decays of the ground state of 156W, revealing that unlike its isotones, both low-lying isomers were populated in its daughter nuclide, 156Ta. An improved value for the half-life of the proton-decaying high-spin isomeric state in 73156Ta83 of 333−22+25 ms was obtained in a separate experiment using the same experimental systems with a 102Pd target. This result was employed to improve the precision of the half-life determined for 156W, which was measured as 157−34+57 ms.

Atomic Diffusion Mechanism in BF2+ Implanted and Annealed n-Fz Si junction using Analytical Approach: Comparison with 2-D TCAD Process Simulation Result

Ion implantation controls the diffusion of the dopants inside the n-Fz Si bulk of the p+n Si microstrip detector. In order to understand about the diffusion mechanism of BF2 + molecules/dopants into the n-Fz Si bulk of Double Sided Silicon Strip Detector (back side) for the R3B Silicon Tracker, it is essential to know the precise information about the microscopic defect introduces inside the Si lattice of the detector for the next phase upgrade of the R3B experiment. The purpose of this paper is to present the atomic transport and electrical activation behavior of implanted BF2+ molecules/dopants at an energy of 80 KeV and a dose of 1015 ion/cm2 into the n-Fz Double Sided Silicon Strip Detector for the R3B Silicon Tracker after annealing at 400 °C - 1350 °C.The result shows the amorphous-crystalline interface position and recrystallization temperature using the results revealed from the 2-D TCAD process simulation of the Si microstrip detector.

Extracting clean low-energy spectra from silicon strip detector telescopes around punch through energies

The response of detector telescopes becomes complex around their relevant punch through energies: For some deposited energies the corresponding particle kinetic energies cannot be uniquely assigned, and these spurious energy regions can span several hundreds of keV if the telescopes are employed in close geometry. We present methods for producing clean low-energy spectra of light ions from detector telescopes consisting of thin double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSSDs) backed by thick silicon pad detectors. By following these methods, the spectra of several such detector telescopes can be combined to span the entire relevant particle energy spectrum, above as well as below the punch through thresholds of the individual telescopes. The total energy spectrum resulting from the combination of all telescope spectra thus encompass the entire particle energy distribution in conjunction with the energy-dependent, setup-specific solid angle coverage. Energy spectra of beta-delayed proton emission from 21Mg are used to illustrate the methods.

Test Bench for Highly Segmented GRIT Double-Sided Silicon Strip Detectors: A Detector Quality Control Protocol

This work deals with the characteristics of highly segmented double-sided silicon detectors. These are fundamental parts in many new state-of-the-art particle detection systems, and therefore they must perform optimally. We propose a test bench that can handle 256 electronic channels with off-the-shelf equipment, as well as a detector quality control protocol to ensure that the detectors meet the requirements. Detectors with a large number of strips bring new technological challenges and issues that need to be carefully monitored and understood. One of the standard 500 μm thick detectors of the GRIT array was investigated, undergoing studies that revealed its IV curve, charge collection efficiency, and energy resolution. From the data obtained, we calculated, among other things, the depletion voltage (110 V), the resistivity of the bulk material (9 kΩ·cm), and the electronic noise contribution (8 keV). We present, for the first time, a methodology called “the energy triangle’’ to visualize the effect of charge sharing between two adjacent strips and to study the hit distribution with the interstrip-to-strip hit ratio (ISR).

Development and characterization of new position-sensitive silicon strip detectors

Direct reaction experiments in inverse kinematics are one of the best experimental tools to study a wide range of nuclear properties, providing a great probe into the nuclear structure of exotic nuclei and enabling the measurement of reactions relevant to many astrophysical scenarios. In order to fully exploit the next generation of radioactive ion beam facilities, a large amount of effort was devoted to developing nuclear detectors specially designed for direct reaction experiments. An instrumental part of these detector devices is the Micron X6 position-sensitive double sided silicon strip detector. This custom-made detector is segmented in 4 strips on its ohmic side and 8 resistive charge-splitting strips on its junction side, providing excellent position measurement of charged particles with a much smaller number of signals than traditional DSSSD with similar position resolution.

Proton decays from α -unbound states in Mg22 and the Ne18(α,p0)21Na cross section

Background: Type I x-ray bursts provide an opportunity to constrain the equation of state of nuclear matter. Observations of the light curves from these bursts allow the compactness of neutron stars to be constrained. However, the behavior of these light curves also depends on a number of important thermonuclear reaction rates. One of these reactions, $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},p)^{21}\mathrm{Na}$, has been extensively studied but there is some tension between the rate calculated from spectroscopic information of states above the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-particle threshold in $^{22}\mathrm{Mg}$ and the rate determined from time-reversed measurements of the cross section.Purpose: The time-reversed measurement of the cross section is only sensitive to the ground state-to-ground state contribution. Therefore, corrections must be made to this reaction rate to account for the contribution of branches to excited states in $^{21}\mathrm{Na}$. At present this is done with statistical models which may not be applicable in such light nuclei. Basing the correction of the time-reversed cross section on experimental data is much more robust.Method: The $^{24}\mathrm{Mg}(p,t)^{22}\mathrm{Mg}$ reaction was used to populate states in $^{22}\mathrm{Mg}$. The reaction products from the reaction were analysed by the K600 magnetic spectrometer at iThemba Laboratories, South Africa. Protons decaying from excited states of $^{22}\mathrm{Mg}$ (${S}_{p}=5502$ keV) were detected in an array of five double-sided silicon strip detectors placed at backward angles. The branching ratio for proton decays to the ground state of $^{21}\mathrm{Na}, {B}_{{p}_{0}}$, was determined by comparing the inclusive (triton-only focal-plane) and exclusive (focal-plane gated on a specific proton decay) spectra.Results: The experimental proton decay branching ratio to the ground state of $^{21}\mathrm{Na}$ from excited states in $^{22}\mathrm{Mg}$ were found to be a factor of about two smaller than the ratios predicted by Hauser-Feshbach models. Using the experimental branchings for a recalculation of the $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},{p}_{0})^{21}\mathrm{Na}$ cross section leads to a considerably improved agreement with previous reaction data. Updated information on the disputed number of levels around ${E}_{x}\ensuremath{\approx}9$ MeV and on the possible $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},2p)^{20}\mathrm{Ne}$ cross section at astrophysical energies is also reported.Conclusions: The proton decay branching of excited states in $^{22}\mathrm{Mg}$ to the ground state of $^{21}\mathrm{Na}$ have been measured using the K600 Q2D spectrometer at iThemba Laboratories coupled to the double-sided silicon-strip detector array CAKE. Using these experimental data, the modeling of the $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},{p}_{0})^{21}\mathrm{Na}$ cross section has been improved. The result is not only in better agreement with previous cross section data but also consistent with a recent direct measurement of $^{18}\mathrm{Ne}(\ensuremath{\alpha},p)^{21}\mathrm{Na}$. This strengthens the case for the application of statistical models for these reactions.

Specific moments in detection of superheavy nuclei: DGFRS-2 spectrometer

In this paper, we present the results of the first beam tests of the detection system at the focal plane of the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator-2 (DGFRS-2), which receives beams from the DC-280 FLNR cyclotron. The high beam intensity of 48Ca+10 heavy ions from the cyclotron enables us to obtain a number of superheavy recoils sufficient to compare both the measured and calculated spectra of superheavy recoils implanted into a silicon detector. A real-time algorithm to search for an Evaporation Residue (ER) — α correlated sequences is described in brief. It should be noted that the DGFRS-2 spectrometer operates in conjunction with the 48 × 128 strip DSSD (Double-sided Silicon Strip Detector; 48 × 226 mm2) detector and a low-pressure pentane-filled gaseous detector (1.2 Torr; 80 × 230 mm2). A block-diagram of the spectrometer and the event format are also presented. Special attention is paid to the response of a low-pressure pentane-filled ΔE multiwire proportional chamber for recoils of Fl, synthesized in the 242Pu + 48Ca → 287Fl + 3n complete fusion nuclear reaction. Some actual parameters of the detection system have also been extracted from natYb + 48Ca, 232Th + 48Ca, 243Am + 48Ca, 238U + 48Ca reactions. The effect of neighbor strip charge sharing for the ohmic side of the DSSD detector is also under consideration.

Determination of the B8 neutrino energy spectrum using trapped ions

The ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{+}$ decay of $^{8}\mathrm{B}$ provides the dominant source of solar neutrinos above 2 MeV. Consequently, experiments that detect neutrinos from the sun require an accurate determination of the $^{8}\mathrm{B}$ neutrino energy spectrum. In this work, the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay Paul trap surrounded by double-sided silicon strip detectors was utilized to precisely measure the decay products of trapped $^{8}\mathrm{B}$ ions. The results were used to determine the $^{8}\mathrm{Be}$ final-state distribution and to reconstruct the neutrino energy spectrum. This measurement using trapped ions is the first of its kind and puts the neutrino energy spectrum on much firmer footing by discriminating between recently reported values for the maximum of the final-state distribution.

The Advanced Implantation Detector Array (AIDA)

The Advanced Implantation Detector Array (AIDA) is a state-of-the-art detector system for the measurement of the decay properties of exotic nuclei at fragmentation/fission facilities. Built around stacks of up to eight 8cm×8cm, 128 × 128 strip (16384 pixels) or up to four 24cm×8cm, 384 × 128 strip (49152 pixels) double sided silicon strip detectors, the positions of both implanted ions and their subsequent decay products can be measured to sub-mm precision. The large number of pixels per detector provide implant-decay correlations at implantation rates ∼kHz. To process signals from the large number of strips application specific integrated circuits provide low and high gain signal processing per strip (20 GeV and 20 MeV full scale range) with a dynamic range of 1000:1, or better. A summary of the system and the analysis methodologies used are presented.

Development of a Compton telescope calorimeter module for MeV-range gamma-ray astronomy

Gamma-ray astronomy in the MeV energy range shows a lack of sensitivity compared to other gamma-ray energy bands. Several space observatory projects are proposed to space agencies to fill this gap. The COMCUBE CubeSat project will focus on the measurement of the polarization of the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) which can provide an understanding of the physics of ultra-relativistic jets. Furthermore, the linear polarization of distant gamma-ray sources could be a probe to study the fundamental physics related to the Lorentz invariance violation. A Compton telescope is particularly well-suited for that purpose. We develop an instrument including double-sided silicon strip detectors and scintillation crystals coupled to a pixelated photodetector. The incoming photon undergoes an inelastic scattering in one or several layers of a position-sensitive silicon strip detector before being absorbed in a position-sensitive calorimeter based on inorganic scintillators. The measurement of both positions and energy deposits enables the determination of the photon’s source direction. It also enables measurement of the linear polarization of the incident gamma-rays. In this contribution, we present the results of the extensive work we have carried out to develop the calorimeter and its integration into a Compton telescope prototype. We conclude by showing the first image and polarization measurements.

Cluster structure of C11 investigated with a breakup reaction

The excitation spectra above the breakup threshold of C11 were measured using the invariant mass method with a 25.0-MeV/nucleon beam bombarding a carbon target for the first time. This measurement was performed with a zero-degree double-sided silicon strip detector together with four CsI(Tl) detectors, which could detect breakup fragments with low relative kinetic energy. Some resonances in C11 were clearly observed in the excitation energy range of 8–14 MeV proceeding through the Be7 + α channel. Among them, a resonance with the largest yield was observed around 8.10 MeV. We assign it as the head of the Kπ=3/2− rotational band, and suggest the 9.38-MeV state as the second member of this band.1 MoreReceived 3 May 2022Revised 16 September 2022Accepted 11 January 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.107.014320©2023 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasBreakup reactionsNuclear structure & decaysProperties6 ≤ A ≤ 19Nuclear Physics

Evaluation of water equivalent thicknesses using the IEM-CSIC scanner prototype

Proton imaging has been proposed as an alternative low-dose imaging technique for acquiring relative stopping power (RSP) maps and for patient positioning. In proton therapy and hadrontherapy, the water equivalent thickness (WET) of a material represents its radiological thickness, however, its calculation requires computationally intensive methods or approximate solutions. At IEM-CSIC, we have developed a scanner prototype for imaging with protons composed of two double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSSD) and fast scintillators with high energy resolution, detectors that are commonly used in Experimental Nuclear Physics. Two custom-made samples of aluminum, air, and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were imaged and their proton radiography images (pRads) are presented in terms of WET. Pattern reproduction, spatial resolution, and sensitivity to di↵erent materials were studied. We present pRads of our samples obtained using a rather traditional approach to compute WET values. All three materials of the studied samples, aluminum, PMMA, and air, were well distinguished; the resulting WET values were in good agreement between samples.

The β-decay of 71Kr: Precise measurement of the half-life

The very proton-rich 71Kr isotope was produced through the in-flight fragmentation of 78Kr on a beryllium target at RIKEN – Nishina Center in order to study its β-decay properties. A stack of double-sided silicon strip detectors, called WAS3ABi, was used as the decay station, where the detection of ion implants, β-decays and β-delayed protons took place. Beta-delayed γ-rays were measured using a system of 84 HPGe detectors, called EURICA, surrounding the decay station. The main goal of the present study was the precise measurement of the half-life of 71Kr, as in the literature there is an almost 10 σ difference between the most precise independent results. Implant–β time correlations, implant–proton time correlations and implant–β–γ time correlations were all used to derive the half-life value, followed by a thorough investigation of systematic uncertainties for each method. As these values were found to be consistent, the weighted average t1/2 = 94.40+19ms is reported as a new half-life value in this work. Furthermore a total of 26 previously unreported γ following the β-decay of 71Kr were also identified in the analysis.

Observation of a Strongly Isospin-Mixed Doublet in ^{26}Si via β-Delayed Two-Proton Decay of ^{26}P.

β decay of proton-rich nuclei plays an important role in exploring isospin mixing. The β decay of ^{26}P at the proton drip line is studied using double-sided silicon strip detectors operating in conjunction with high-purity germanium detectors. The T=2 isobaric analog state (IAS) at 13 055keV and two new high-lying states at 13 380 and 11 912keV in ^{26}Si are unambiguously identified through β-delayed two-proton emission (β2p). Angular correlations of two protons emitted from ^{26}Si excited states populated by ^{26}P β decay are measured, which suggests that the two protons are emitted mainly sequentially. We report the first observation of a strongly isospin-mixed doublet that deexcites mainly via two-proton decay. The isospin mixing matrix element between the ^{26}Si IAS and the nearby 13 380-keV state is determined to be 130(21)keV, and this result represents the strongest mixing, highest excitation energy, and largest level spacing of a doublet ever observed in β-decay experiments.

A Proton Computed Tomography Demonstrator for Stopping Power Measurements

Particle therapy is an established method to treat deep-seated tumours using accelerator-produced ion beams. For treatment planning, the precise knowledge of the relative stopping power (RSP) within the patient is vital. Conversion errors from x-ray computed tomography (CT) measurements to RSP introduce uncertainties in the applied dose distribution. Using a proton computed tomography (pCT) system to measure the SP directly could potentially increase the accuracy of treatment planning. A pCT demonstrator, consisting of double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSD) as tracker and plastic scintillator slabs coupled to silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) as a range telescope, was developed. After a significant hardware upgrade of the range telescope, a 3D tomogram of an aluminium stair phantom was recorded at the MedAustron facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. In total, 80 projections with 6.5 × 105 primary events were acquired and used for the reconstruction of the RSP distribution in the phantom. After applying a straight-line approximation for the particle path inside the phantom, the most probable value (MPV) of the RSP distribution could be measured with an accuracy of 0.59%. The RSP resolution inside the phantom was only 9.3% due to a limited amount of projections and measured events per projection.

New trapezoid-shaped Frisch-grid ionization chamber for low-energy particle measurements

A new trapezoid-shaped Frisch-grid ionization chamber (TFG-IC) has been built as a part of a varDelta {E}-E telescope system for the detection and identification of charged particles at energies down to a few MeV. To study the effect of the drift electric field uniformity, two types of sealed windows, namely a pair of SSA (split-strip aluminized mylar film) and a pair of DSA (double-sided aluminized mylar film) sealed windows have been investigated. The detector’s performances were studied using a standard ^{241}Am source at different gas pressures, and the total energy-deposit resolution achieved is about 1.1%(FWHM). The varDelta {E}-E telescope, which was composed of TFG-IC and a DSSSD (double-sided silicon strip detector), has been tested using a three-component alpha source and the ^{241}Am source under laboratory conditions. The results show that the energy resolution with the SSA sealed windows which provide uniform drift electric field has a smaller fluctuation than that with the DSA ones; the fluctuations are about 1% and 4% for the former and the latter, respectively. Simulations using the COMSOL software also confirmed the electric-field distortion at the edge of the detector with the DSA windows. A correlation curve between energy resolution and energy deposit of charged particles at various gas pressures and for two gas species is derived for TFG-IC with the SSA sealed windows using the measurement with the ^{241}Am source. Incorporating the above results, we performed Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the particle-identification capability of the telescope. The results show that the telescope can be extended to the identification of low-energy particles.

The silicon vertex detector of the Belle II experiment

The Belle II experiment is taking data at the asymmetric SuperKEKB collider (KEK, Japan), which operates at the Υ(4S) resonance. The vertex detector is composed of an inner two-layer pixel detector (PXD) and the silicon vertex detector (SVD), made of four layers of double-sided silicon strip detectors. A deep knowledge of the system has been gained since the start of operations in 2019 by assessing the high-quality and stable reconstruction performance of the detector. The very high hit efficiency and large signal-to-noise ratio are monitored via online data-quality plots. The good cluster-position resolution is estimated using the unbiased residual with respect to the track, and it is in reasonable agreement with the expectations. The SVD dose is estimated by the correlation of the SVD occupancy with the dose measured by the diamond sensors of the radiation-monitoring and beam-abort system. First radiation damage effects are measured on the sensor current and strip noise are shown not to affect the performance. Six samples of the shaped particle signal are recorded utilizing the multi-peak mode of the APV25 front-end chip and used to determine the hit timing with a precision of 2 to 3 ns. Recently a method to compute the time of collision from SVD hit time information has been implemented and verified with simulations and on data.

Measurements of proton beam attenuation radiographs at a clinical facility

In recent years, a proton computed tomography (pCT) demonstrator was installed and tested at the MedAustron facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. It consists of four double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs) for particle tracking and a range telescope to obtain the residual range of the protons that passed through the object to be imaged. Besides conventional pCT, which uses the energy loss information of the single ions, the tracker of the demonstrator also allows for other imaging modalities such as beam attenuation imaging (also referred to as fluence loss imaging). When a proton beam passes through a medium, a certain fraction of the incident primary particles gets absorbed due to the inelastic scattering with the atomic nuclei of the material. Recent studies investigating proton imaging based on inelastic nuclear scattering at clinical energies with single-particle tracking used Monte Carlo simulations and lack additional experimental validation. In this work, proton radiographs based on beam attenuation were measured at clinical beam energies (100.4 MeV, 145.4 MeV) and, for the first time, at 800 MeV. As phantom, an aluminum stair profile was imaged at two different rotation angles to investigate material thicknesses between 2 mm and 10 mm. The recorded beam attenuation was compared to existing reference data from prior measurements and the inelastic nuclear cross sections as incorporated in the Geant4 database. Furthermore, the measurement at 800MeV could be compared to an existing measurement of the inelastic nuclear cross section of aluminum at a similar energy (792.9 MeV).