Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AIDAinnova (Advancement and Innovation for Detectors at Accelerators)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
The AIDAinnova project brings together the leading European infrastructures and academic institutions in detector development for particle physics, a field attracting a global community of more than 10,000 scientists. In total, 15 countries and CERN are involved in this programme, which follows in the tradition of the preceding AIDA-2020 project and will also pursue the priorities of the European Strategy for Particle Physics. In this respect, even while advancing some needed R&D for detectors at LHC and at other colliders, AIDAinnova brings greater focus on instrumentation for a future Higgs factory, a more extensive involvement in neutrino physics at accelerators and a stronger engagement with industry.
AIDAinnova aims to develop innovative state-of-the-art monolithic and hybrid pixel, calorimetric, gaseous and cryogenic detectors, as well as novel electronics and mechanics components and dedicated advanced software needed for experiments at future colliders.
The enhanced coordination within the European detector community leverages EU and national resources, and contributes to maintaining Europe's leadership in the field.
AIDAinnova aims to develop innovative state-of-the-art monolithic and hybrid pixel, calorimetric, gaseous and cryogenic detectors, as well as novel electronics and mechanics components and dedicated advanced software needed for experiments at future colliders.
The enhanced coordination within the European detector community leverages EU and national resources, and contributes to maintaining Europe's leadership in the field.
Three Annual meetings were organised since the beginning of the project to discuss the scientific and technical achievements and the plans for the next year. WP2 launched a newsletter channel, the website,social media packs, also a publication committee and a publication process through the CERN Document Server (CDS). Took actions to facilitate a KT network with other EU projects as part of the INFRA-INNOV. WP3 developed new hardware and software to efficiently collect high-quality data from the detectors.The common data acquisition software has also been upgraded. New monitoring software developed to ensure the highest quality of data. In WP4, enhancements to the dual microprobe's positioning system were completed, and a new low-temperature system was implemented on the standard microprobe. New features were integrated into the IRRAD Data Manager (IDM), with two new IDM instances developed: one deployed for GIF++ and the other for the ITA facility at Fermilab, USA. A generic gamma spectrometry data model was devised. Several TPA-TCT systems were installed at different institutes and tests on irradiated and non-irradiated Silicon Carbide diodes were conducted, expanding the portfolio of tested silicon devicesIn WP5, various high-granularity prototypes were evaluated, and radiation-hard devices were fabricated. The TJ-Monopix2 and TJ-MALTA2 prototypes achieved excellent position resolution. Novel devices with small feature sizes and exciting timing performance, such as the Mini-Cactus-V2, were also produced. In WP6, four productions of timing sensors were launched following prototype characterization at FBK and IMB-CNM. The Allpix Squared Monte-Carlo simulation framework now simulates LGAD and 3D sensor responses. Process optimization was completed for interconnection technology using Anisotropic Conductive Films (ACF). A dedicated sensor wafer was designed for the wafer-to-wafer interconnection project, with production launched in LFoundry 150 nm CMOS technology. Daisy chain production was finalized to validate the selected interconnection technology at IZM. Progress in WP7 includes advances in RPCs, MPGDs for muon systems and hadron calorimeters, drift chambers for Higgs factory tracking, high-pressure TPCs for long-baseline neutrino experiments, and Ring-Imaging Cherenkov detectors. DLC layers on Kapton foils using Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) and Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) techniques are being produced to cover larger areas. In large volume gas detectors, cluster counting algorithms on an FPGA have been developed to compare data processing and storage models. WP8 focuses on developing advanced calorimeters and particle ID detectors. Proposed granular calorimeters will increase cell numbers by up to two orders of magnitude compared to current LHC models. Other approaches, such as pixelised, liquid noble gas, and dual-readout calorimeters, are also being developed. Liquid noble calorimeters with ten times higher granularity are candidates for future detectors, with promising PCB designs showing reduced cross talk. Compact electronics will make the detectors almost fully hermetic. A notable development is the use of nanomaterials, where solid-state nanoparticles in regular crystals act as highly luminescent quantum dots with picosecond timing. In WP9, the scintillation light readout task has made progress in developing electronics for SiPM readout for the ProtoDUNE II run at CERN as well as qualifying the X-ARAPUCA detectors. The vertical drift performance has been demonstrated using a CERN test-stand (ColdBox) at the CERN Neutrino Platform. In WP10, the main results are: the first circulation of CO2 boiling flow at -20o C into an ultra-light truss structure; mechanical and hydraulic characterization tests of different 3D printed samples in Al2O3 and in AlSi12; experiences of 3D printing a micro-hydraulic connector in PEEK; the full definition of a new test rig to characterize the thermal-hydraulic properties of supercritical CO2 in small diameter pipes; the definition of an innovative hybrid cycle using supercritical Krypton as a refrigerant. In WP11, some ASICs were submitted and others are now in an advanced design stage. Several multi-channel ASICs, to readout different kind of detectors, are being developed in mature technology nodes such as 130 and 65 nm. A chip to readout AC-coupled LGAD has already been submitted by CNRS OMEGA and test results of the LIROC ASIC for SiPM developed by WEEROC are now available. The first 16-channel AC-LGAD readout ASIC has been received and will be used for detector characterization. Prototypes have been fabricated in 2023 in multiprojects runs (MPW) for the 28 nm and in an engineering run for the 130 nm. In WP12, machine learning models were developed, and fast adaptation methods showed adaptability to different detector layouts. The Turnkey Software task improved the data conversion layer and code wrapper for running ILC algorithms in Key4hep, enhancing usability and maintainability. Schema evolution is now supported in PODIO. EDM4hep improvements focus on thread safety and consistent data handling. Track reconstruction in Acts has benefited from new algorithms and GPU support. Accurate simulations for new detectors, like dual-readout calorimeters and MPGDs, were developed. PFAs for dual-readout calorimeters are being adjusted to include both classical and neural network algorithms. The APRIL algorithm for ILD detectors now has better energy corrections. For DUNE ND events, a slicing approach and a promising deep learning algorithm were developed to handle multiple neutrino interactions at LBNF. In WP13 four projects have been selected with a competitive selection procedure and the preliminary results have been presented in a series of meetings.
Many of the detectors foreseen for future experiments being developed in AIDAinnova will reach a very mature level by the end of the project. The potential impacts are far-reaching: within the scientific field these will ensure maintaining Europe's leadership in the field. Moreover, many of the sensors and systems being developed within AIDAinnova have very interesting potential applications in many other fields, ranging from medical applications, to homeland security, to environmental issues and even space technology.