CERN Facility Research Articles

First results on monolithic CMOS detector with internal gain

In this paper we report on a set of characterisations carried out on the first monolithic LGAD prototype integrated in a customised 110 nm CMOS process having a depleted active volume thickness of 48 μm. This prototype is formed by a pixel array where each pixel has a total size of 100 μm× 250 μm and includes a high-speed front-end amplifier. After describing the sensor and the electronics architecture, both laboratory and in-beam measurements are reported and described. Optical characterisations performed with an IR pulsed laser setup have shown a sensor internal gain of about 2.5. With the same experimental setup, the electronic jitter was found to be between 50 ps and 150 ps, depending on the signal amplitude. Moreover, the analysis of a test beam performed at the Proton Synchrotron (PS) T10 facility of CERN with 10 GeV/c protons and pions indicated that the overall detector time resolution is in the range of 234 ps to 244 ps. Further TCAD investigations, based on the doping profile extracted from C(V) measurements, confirmed the multiplication gain measured on the test devices. Finally, TCAD simulations were used to tune the future doping concentration of the gain layer implant, targeting sensors with a higher avalanche gain. This adjustment is expected to enhance the timing performance of the sensors of the future productions, in order to cope with the high event rate expected in most of the near future high-energy and high-luminosity physics experiments, where the time resolution will be essential to disentangle overlapping events and it will also be crucial for Particle IDentification (PID).

Sc diffusion in HCP high entropy alloys

Sc diffusion in hexagonal close packed Al15Hf25Sc10Ti25Zr25 and Al5Hf25Sc20Ti25Zr25 high-entropy alloys is measured using the CERN facility for implantation of the 46Sc isotope. The Sc diffusivity is found to be slower than that of previously measured Ti in both alloys. Ab initio-informed calculations are used to quantify the interplay of chemical complexity and local atomic strains. The mean-square atomic displacements are shown to contribute to the observed “anti-sluggish” diffusion behavior in these high-entropy alloys.

Ultra-thin polymer foil cryogenic window for antiproton deceleration and storage.

We present the design and characterization of a cryogenic window based on an ultra-thin aluminized biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate foil at T < 10 K, which can withstand a pressure difference larger than 1 bar at a leak rate <1×10-9 mbar l/s. Its thickness of ∼1.7 μm makes it transparent to various types of particles over a broad energy range. To optimize the transfer of 100keV antiprotons through the window, we tested the degrading properties of different aluminum coated polymer foils of thicknesses between 900 and 2160nm, concluding that 1760nm foil decelerates antiprotons to an average energy of 5keV. We have also explicitly studied the permeation as a function of coating thickness and temperature and have performed extensive thermal and mechanical endurance and stress tests. Our final design integrated into the experiment has an effective open surface consisting of seven holes with a diameter of 1mm and will transmit up to 2.5% of the injected 100keV antiproton beam delivered by the Antiproton Decelerator and Extra Low ENergy Antiproton ring facility of CERN.

First Prototype of the Long Orbit Nested Corrector for HL-LHC

2.5-m-long nested orbit correctors (so-called MCBXFA) are necessary for the upgrade of LHC, in the framework of HL-LHC project. These magnets provide 2.1 T in vertical and horizontal direction and they share the same cross-section of their shorter version MCBXFB, for which two prototypes and the first two series magnets have been manufactured and tested. In this paper we first present the specific aspects of MCBXFA magnet design: (i) field quality in the different powering scenarios, and (ii) mechanical analysis, with special attention to torque under combined operation. We then overview the manufacturing techniques, which are very similar to those used for MCBXFB, pointing out some difficulties that have arisen during the coil vacuum impregnation. The components of the prototype magnet are being produced by CIEMAT and the magnet will be assembled at CERN facilities.

Quadrupole magnet design, manufacturing and the acceptance tests for METU-defocusing beamline

Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beam Line (METU-DBL) performs the Single Event Effects (SEEs) radiation tests with protons in the range of 15 MeV to 30 MeV kinetic energy at Turkish Atomic Energy Authority Proton Accelerator Facility (TENMAK NÜKEN-PAF) for space and nuclear applications. The most critical beam transfer elements in the METU-DBL are three quadrupole magnets, which are used for defocusing the beam like optical lenses. The first two quadrupole magnets were purchased commercially, and the third quadrupole magnet was designed by the METU-DBL project team and manufactured by Sönmez Transformer Inc. in Turkey. Electronic, mechanic and magnetic capability tests of this custom-designed magnet were conducted both at TUBITAK and CERN facilities. After passing the acceptance tests, the magnet was certified by CERN and then installed to METU-DBL as a third quadrupole magnet. In this paper, we present details of the design, production and performed tests of the quadrupole magnet.

BASE—high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons

The BASE collaboration at the antiproton decelerator/ELENA facility of CERN compares the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons with ultra-high precision. Using advanced Penning trap systems, we have measured the proton and antiproton magnetic moments with fractional uncertainties of 300 parts in a trillion (p.p.t.) and 1.5 parts in a billion (p.p.b.), respectively. The combined measurements improve the resolution of the previous best test in that sector by more than a factor of 3000. Very recently, we have compared the antiproton/proton charge-to-mass ratios with a fractional precision of 16 p.p.t., which improved the previous best measurement by a factor of 4.3. These results allowed us also to perform a differential matter/antimatter clock comparison test to limits better than 3,%. Our measurements enable us to set limits on 22 coefficients of CPT- and Lorentz-violating standard model extensions (SME) and to search for potentially asymmetric interactions between antimatter and dark matter. In this article, we review some of the recent achievements and outline recent progress towards a planned improved measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment with an at least tenfold improved fractional accuracy.Graphic

First high resolution measurement of neutron capture resonances in 176Yb at the n_TOF CERN facility

Several international agencies recommend the study of new routes and new facilities for producing radioisotopes with application to nuclear medicine. 177Lu is a versatile radioisotope used for therapy and diagnosis (theranostics) of cancer with good success in neuroendocrine tumours that is being studied to be applied to a wider range of tumours. 177Lu is produced in few nuclear reactors mainly by the neutron capture on 176Lu. However, it could be produced at high-intensity celeratorbased neutron facilities. The energy of the neutrons in accelerator-based neutron facilities is higher than in thermal reactors.Thus, experimental data on the 176Yb(n,γ) cross-section in the eV and keV region are mandatory to calculate accurately the production of 177Yb, which beta decays to 177Lu. At present, there are not experimental data available from thermal to 3 keV of the 176Yb(n,γ) cross-section. In addition, there is no data in the resolved resonance region (RRR). This contribution shows the first results of the 176Yb capture measurement performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN.

Studies on RPC detectors operated with environmentally friendly gas mixtures in LHC-like conditions

Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) are largely employed at CERN LHC experiments thanks to their excellent trigger and timing performances. High Pressure Laminates (HPL) RPCs are operated with a gas mixture made of about 95% of C2H2F4, 5% of i-C4H10 and 0.3% of SF6. Both C2H2F4 and SF6 are known to be Greenhouse Gases (GHG), with a global warming potential of 1430 and 22800 respectively. Due to leaks at the detector level, RPCs accounted for about 87% of total GHG emissions from particle detectors at CERN during LHC Run 2. CERN has elaborated several strategies to reduce its GHG emissions and align with the European regulation on fluorinated gases. One strategy consists in the study of alternatives gases for particle detectors, with a particular focus on alternatives to R-134a and SF6. An experimental setup was designed to study RPC performances with eco-friendly gas mixture first with cosmic muons, where several gas mixtures could be tested. Few gas mixtures were then selected and a dedicated setup was installed at the Gamma Irradiation Facility of CERN to characterize detector performance with LHC-like background radiation and muon beam. Results with RPCs operated with lower GWP gas mixtures are presented in this work.

New CERN Facility Allows Study of Radiation Damage to Materials

CERN’s “irradiation station” will investigate the effect of radiation on commercial materials, such as lubricants and gaskets, that are used regularly in accelerator beamlines and other radiation environments.

Hyperfine Spectroscopy of Antihydrogen, Hydrogen, and Deuterium

The prospects of tests of CPT symmetry using precision spectroscopy of antihydrogen are discussed with special emphasis on the ground-state hyperfine structure, a measurement of which is the aim of the ASACUSA collaboration at the AD/ELENA facility of CERN. Ongoing parallel experiments using hyperfine spectroscopy of hydrogen and deuterium aiming at studying Lorentz invariance by determining coefficients of the Standard Model Extension framework are described.

Large nuclear scattering effects in antiproton transmission through polymer and metal-coated foils

We simulate the deceleration and transmission of antiprotons with keV-scale kinetic energies through polymer foils using a molecular dynamics approach, which includes a model of nuclear stopping based on the attractive interaction potentials between antiprotons and target atoms calculated by quantum chemical methods. Antiprotons scatter into larger angles with higher cross sections than protons. This causes a significant fraction of antiprotons to annihilate in the foil instead of emerging with energies of a few keV, especially when coatings of materials with high atomic number are applied to the surfaces. The simulation results are in good agreement with data from two experiments that involved pulsed antiproton beams with incident energies between 63 keV and 122 keV that traverse polymer foils with thicknesses of $\ensuremath{\approx}1.3$ $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ and 1.8 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$. The 25-nm-thick layers of Ag on the latter foil reduced the transmission of antiprotons. The results will be utilized to design the degrader foils in laser spectroscopy experiments of antiprotonic helium atoms and experiments involving Penning traps that are carried out at the ELENA facility of CERN.

Characterization of planar and 3D silicon pixel sensors for the high luminosity phase of the CMS experiment at LHC

The High Luminosity upgrade of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (HL–LHC) calls for an upgrade of the CMS tracker detector to cope with the increased radiation levels while maintaining the excellent performance of the existing detector. Specifically, new high-radiation tolerant solid-state pixel sensors, capable of surviving irradiation fluences up to 1.9×1016neq/cm2 at 3 cm from the interaction point, need to be developed. For this purpose an R&D program involving different vendors have been pursued, aiming at the development of thin n-in-p type pixel sensors. The R&D covers both planar (manufactured by Fondazione Bruno Kessler, FBK; Hamamatsu Photonics, HPK and LFoundry) and single-sided 3D columnar (manufactured by FBK and Centro Nacional de Microelectronica, CNM) pixel devices. The target active thickness is 150μm while two different pixel cell dimensions are currently investigated (25 × 100 and 50×50μm2). Sensors presented in this article have been bump-bonded to the RD53A readout chip (ROC), the first prototype towards the development of a ROC to be employed during HL–LHC operation. Test beam studies, both of thin planar and 3D devices, have been performed by the CMS collaboration at the CERN, DESY and Fermilab test beam facilities. Results of modules performance before and after irradiation (up to 2.4×1016neq/cm2) are presented in this article.

PUMA, antiProton unstable matter annihilation

PUMA, antiProton Unstable Matter Annihilation, is a nuclear-physics experiment at CERN aiming at probing the surface properties of stable and rare isotopes by use of low-energy antiprotons. Low-energy antiprotons offer a very unique sensitivity to the neutron and proton densities at the annihilation site, i.e. in the tail of the nuclear density. Today, no facility provides a collider of low-energy radioactive ions and low-energy antiprotons: while not being a collider experiment, PUMA aims at transporting one billion antiprotons from ELENA, the Extra-Low-ENergy Antiproton ring, to ISOLDE, the rare-isotope beam facility of CERN. PUMA will enable the capture of low-energy antiprotons by short-lived nuclei and the measurement of the emitted radiations. In this way, PUMA will give access to the so-far largely unexplored isospin composition of the nuclear-radial-density tail of radioactive nuclei. The motivations, concept and current status of the PUMA experiment are presented.

Construction and operation of large scale Micromegas detectors for the ATLAS Muon upgrade

After the forthcoming upgrade of the LHC accelerator at CERN, its luminosity will increase up to 7.5 × 1034 cm−2s−1. That will raise the readout rates and the background data to unmanageable levels for the existing ATLAS muon spectrometer. The ATLAS collaboration has proposed to replace the present small wheel muon detector with the New Small Wheel (NSW) to surpass those limitations. The new wheels consist of Micromegas (MM) and small-strip Thin Gap Chambers (sTGC). The first technology aims for precision tracking, and the last one for trigger purposes. Each wheel will be equipped with eight small and eight large sectors, while each sector will have a double MM wedge surrounded by sTGC wedges. The MM detectors for the NSW will be the largest developed Micro Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) as they will cover an area up to 1280 m2. During detectors’ manufacture have been used various custom materials (PCBs, mesh) and innovative construction techniques. This paper describes the MM drift panels production at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki laboratory. Then will be presented resolution results of the MM detectors with cosmic-ray tests at CERN facilities.

Design and Verification of a 6.25 GHz LC-Tank VCO Integrated in 65 nm CMOS Technology Operating up to 1 Grad TID

This article presents the design of an <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LC</i> -Tank voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) for space and high-energy physics (HEP) applications. The main goal of this work is to design a radiation-hard oscillator to be integrated into a phase-locked loop (PLL), compliant with (but not limited to) SpaceFibre protocol requirements, which is able to support the 6.25 GHz frequency. The full custom schematic and layout of the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LC</i> -VCO are reported in this work. The <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LC</i> -VCO is implemented in a commercial 65 nm CMOS technology, and its electrical characterization highlights a tuning range (TR) from 5.4 to 6.8 GHz. An experimental chip was fabricated and irradiated with X-rays up to 1 Grad (SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> ) total ionizing dose (TID) level at CERN facility. The TID experiment and measurement results are analyzed and discussed. The <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LC</i> -VCO shows a frequency degradation of 2.54% and a 3.34% increment in phase noise at 1 Grad TID. The results achieved are of interest for both space and HEP applications.

360 Degree Panoramic Photographs During the Long Shutdown 2 of the CERN Machines and Facilities

360 Degree Panoramic Photographs During the Long Shutdown 2 of the CERN Machines and Facilities

Laser Spectroscopy Measurements of Metastable Pionic Helium Atoms at Paul Scherrer Institute

We review recent experiments carried out by the PiHe collaboration of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) that observed an infrared transition of three-body pionic helium atoms by laser spectroscopy. These measurements may lead to a precise determination of the charged pion mass, and complement experiments of antiprotonic helium atoms carried out at the new ELENA facility of CERN.

Radiative Neutron Capture Cross-Section Measurement of Ge Isotopes at n_TOF CERN Facility and Its Importance for Stellar Nucleosynthesis

This manuscript summarizes the results of radiative neutron capture cross-section measurements on two stable germanium isotopes, 70Ge and 73Ge. Experiments were performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN via the time-of-flight technique, over a wide neutron energy range, for all stable germanium isotopes (70,72,73,74, and 76). Results for 70Ge [Phys. Rev. C 100, 045804 (2019)] and 73Ge [Phys. Lett. B 790, 458 (2019)] are already published. In the field of nuclear structure, such measurements allow to study excited levels close to the neutron binding energy and to obtain information on nuclear properties. In stellar nucleosynthesis research, neutron induced reactions on germanium are of importance for nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow neutron capture processes.

Quench Protection Studies for the High Luminosity LHC Nb$_3$Sn Quadrupole Magnets

Achieving the targets of the High Luminosity LHC project requires the installation of new inner triplet magnet circuits for the final focusing of the particle beams on each side of the two main interaction points. Each of the four circuits will include six 150 mm aperture, 132.2 T/m gradient, Nb <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_3$</tex-math></inline-formula> Sn quadrupole magnets to be installed in the LHC tunnel. The recently updated circuit topology is such that the protection of each magnet can be studied from a single magnet point-of-view. To limit the hot-spot temperature and the peak voltage-to-ground, a protection system was designed that quickly and reliably transfers voluminous parts of the coil to the normal-conducting state, hence distributing more homogeneously the magnets stored energy in the windings. This system is based on two elements: quench heaters attached to the outer layers of the magnet coils and CLIQ (Coupling-Loss Induced Quench). The performance of the protection system is investigated by simulating the electro-magnetic and thermal transients occurring after a quench with the program STEAM-LEDET, and by conducting dedicated experiments at the CERN and FNAL magnet test facilities. The effectiveness of the quench protection system is assessed at all representative operating current levels. Furthermore, the coils hot-spot temperature and peak voltage to ground are analyzed for various failure cases, conductor parameters, and parameter distribution among the four coils. It is concluded that the proposed design assures an effective, reliable, and fully redundant quench protection system.

COTS Optocoupler Radiation Qualification Process for LHC Applications Based on Mixed-Field Irradiations

Optoelectronic components are the most sensitive devices of systems exposed to radiation environments. Displacement damage (DD) effects can severely degrade the performances of such devices, which are extensively used in critical electronic systems installed in particle accelerators or nuclear power plants. This work investigates the use of application-specific radiation spectra for damage estimations in operation instead of mono-energetic proton or neutron irradiations. An analysis of the characteristics of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) radiation environment in terms of DD is presented in this work along with the demonstration of the ability of the CERN High Energy Accelerator Mixed Field (CHARM) facility of CERN to reproduce them. Then, a set of optocouplers made of gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), and aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) are tested under these environments, and the results are compared to proton and neutron irradiations.