Descripción del proyecto
Nuevos detectores de píxeles de silicio con resolución temporal de picosegundos
Los detectores de silicio se utilizan en numerosos experimentos de física de partículas. El proyecto MONOLITH, financiado con fondos europeos, pretende diseñar un nuevo sensor de píxel de silicio capaz de detectar partículas en la escala de tiempo de picosegundos con una alta resolución espacial. El nuevo sensor combinará los procesos de montaje simplificados y los costes de producción reducidos que ofrece la tecnología de metal-óxido-semiconductor complementario estándar. Esta tecnología innovadora será un instrumento revolucionario para futuros experimentos en física nuclear y de partículas, así como en experimentos de física en el espacio. También podría tener impacto en otros campos, como los sistemas LIDAR de alta precisión, los escáneres de tomografía de emisión de positrones de análisis de tiempo de vuelo y la captación de imágenes biológicas.
Objetivo
Particle-physics, space research and several other fields of basic and applied science necessitate the production of thin sensors capable to provide excellent position and time resolution at the same time.
The diode structure of present silicon pixel sensors strongly penalises the enormous potential of silicon-based time measurement: the ~30 ps intrinsic limit of diodes was already reached in sensors with internal gain with pad sizes of 1 mm2. Therefore, new ideas are needed to improve by another order of magnitude and reach the picosecond level.
This project introduces a novel silicon-sensor structure devised to overcome the intrinsic limits of present sensors and simultaneously provide picosecond timing and high spatial resolution in a monolithic implementation. This goal is achieved by the introduction of a fully depleted multi-junction. The remarkable performance of this new sensor, combined with the simplified assembly process and reduced production cost offered by the monolithic implementation in standard CMOS processes, represent the required breakthrough.
In addition to the novel multi-junction sensor, the cornerstones of the project are the low-noise very-fast SiGe HBT frontend and the patented TDC with robust synchronisation method that the PI has already produced in preliminary versions.
The monolithic detector proposed here will offer a sustainable solution for the next generation of experiments at hadron colliders, in nuclear physics and for space-borne experiments in cosmic-ray physics and solar physics. Besides the primary goal of basic science, it will represent an extraordinary enabling technology for the large spectrum of high-tech applications that benefits of picosecond-level Time-Of-Flight measurements. The innovative monolithic detector introduced here will also offer a starting point for further progress in the field of light detection.
European industrial partners have been contacted for commercial exploitation of the detector.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsparticle accelerator
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomygalactic astronomysolar physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesnuclear physics
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
1211 Geneve
Suiza