Radiation damage in the LHCb Vertex Locator

TL;DR

This paper investigates radiation damage effects on the LHCb Vertex Locator's silicon sensors, including sensor degradation, type inversion, and charge collection efficiency, providing detailed measurements and observations after exposure to high fluences.

Contribution

It presents the first observation of n-on-n sensor type inversion at the LHC and analyzes the radiation effects on different sensor types used in the VELO detector.

Findings

Sensor current increases linearly with fluence, matching predictions.

First observation of n-on-n sensor type inversion at the LHC.

Charge collection efficiency decreases due to an unexpected effect involving readout lines.

Abstract

The LHCb Vertex Locator (VELO) is a silicon strip detector designed to reconstruct charged particle trajectories and vertices produced at the LHCb interaction region. During the first two years of data collection, the 84 VELO sensors have been exposed to a range of fluences up to a maximum value of approximately $\rm{45 \times 10^{12}\,1\,MeV}$ neutron equivalent ($\rm{1\,MeV\,n_{eq}}$). At the operational sensor temperature of approximately $-7\,^{\circ}\rm{C}$, the average rate of sensor current increase is $18\,\upmu\rm{A}$ per $\rm{fb^{-1}}$, in excellent agreement with predictions. The silicon effective bandgap has been determined using current versus temperature scan data after irradiation, with an average value of $E_{g}=1.16\pm0.03\pm0.04\,\rm{eV}$ obtained. The first observation of n-on-n sensor type inversion at the LHC has been made, occurring at a fluence of around $15 \times 10 ^{12}$ of $1\,\rm{MeV\,n_{eq}}$. The only n-on-p sensors in use at the LHC have also been studied. With an initial fluence of approximately $\rm{3 \times 10^{12}\,1\,MeV\,n_{eq}}$, a decrease in the Effective Depletion Voltage (EDV) of around 25\,V is observed, attributed to oxygen induced removal of boron interstitial sites. Following this initial decrease, the EDV increases at a comparable rate to the type inverted n-on-n type sensors, with rates of $(1.43\pm 0.16) \times 10 ^{-12}\,\rm{V} / \, 1 \, \rm{MeV\,n_{eq}}$ and $(1.35\pm 0.25) \times 10 ^{-12}\,\rm{V} / \, 1 \, \rm{MeV\,n_{eq}}$ measured for n-on-p and n-on-n type sensors, respectively. A reduction in the charge collection efficiency due to an unexpected effect involving the second metal layer readout lines is observed.