Periodic Reporting for period 2 - STREAM (Smart Sensor Technologies and Training for Radiation Enhanced Applications andMeasurements)
Berichtszeitraum: 2018-01-01 bis 2019-12-31
The project develops CMOS sensor technology to meet the demanding conditions posed by basic research like the ambitious LHC scientific programme at CERN, as well as industrial applications such as radiation hard X-ray, electron detectors and environmental sensors. STREAM structures the research and training in four scientific work-packages, which span the whole value-chain from research to application: CMOS Technologies Assessment, Smart Sensor Design and Layout, Validation and Qualification, Technology Integration, and Valorisation.
The focus of the scientific work in STREAM was the development of radiationhard CMOS sensors for scienctific and industrial use. The main research goal of STREAM was to develop electronics circuits and process optimizations to make commercially available CMOS imaging technologies radiation hard to levels of 100 Mrad total ionizing dose (TID) /1015 neq/cm2 non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL). This goal was achieved by the partners and fellows of STREAM through the combination of novel designs and process optimization implemented in a large range of monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS). The designs and processing were developed in close cooperation with CMOS foundries, who produced the sensors in three major CMOS imaging technologies with node sizes of 150 nm to 180 nm. The qualification of the sensors was carried out by the STREAM partners in irradiation tests, electronic tests and tests with charged particle and photo/X-ray detectors. To conclude: STREAM has successfully demonstrated for the first time that monolithic CMOS pixel sensors can be made radiation hard to 100 Mrad TID /1015 neq/cm2 (NIEL) and operate fully efficient with low noise as charged particle detectors for applications in science and industry.
The STREAM ESRs have participated in 55 outreach and dissemination events reaching the scientific and industrial community as well as high school students. STREAM results have been published in a total of 41 peer-reviewed articles in important journals as such as the Journal of Instrumentation (JINST), Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A (NIMA) and IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. 15 of these publications have been made as Conference Proceedings to major international conferences.
Scientific advancement in radiation hard CMOS sensors, dissemination of results and and their valorization:
The STREAM ITN has had an important impact on the technical advancement of CMOS sensor technologies for High Energy Physics experiments and industrial applications.The STREAM project has proposed and achieved significant advanced technology innovations in imaging sensor design thanks to unique synergies between industrial partners in the fields of sensor research and microelectronics. Since the beginning of the project, more than 35 peer-reviewed articles and publications in Conference Proceedings and papers submitted to peer-reviewed journals have been realized by the ESRs and their supervisors reflecting the maturity of the research topics addressed by the project. A summary of publications is available on the public STREAM Web page (https://stream.web.cern.ch/conferences-and-publications). During the course of the project STREAM ESRs have participated in over 100 events to bring the research results of STREAM to the scientific community as well as the general public.
Technology Valorisation was high in the agenda, with major advances for the industrial partners. This aspect was also a key part of the ESRs training in technology valorisation and business trainings organized in the framework of STREAM. The ESRs completed, together with business students, the analysis of technology and business developments for the beneficiaries: CIS on Radiation monitoring for environmental applications; ThermoFisher Scientific for the next generation of highest resolution electron microscopes; AMS AG on photo sensors for medical diagnostic for X-ray CT scanners.