# Simulation study of signal formation in position sensitive planar p-on-n silicon detectors after short range charge injection

## TL;DR

This study uses simulations to investigate the unexpected negative signals in silicon detectors caused by short-range charge injection, revealing the influence of oxide charge density on signal formation and detector response.

## Contribution

The paper presents the first detailed simulation analysis of negative pulse polarity in silicon detectors due to short-range charge injection, enhancing understanding of signal formation mechanisms.

## Key findings

- Negative response observed in simulations matches experimental data.
- Oxide charge density significantly affects the signal polarity.
- Negative signals vanish when laser is on the strip p+ implant.

## Abstract

Segmented silicon detectors (micropixel and microstrip) are the main type of detectors used in the inner trackers of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN. Due to the high luminosity and eventual high fluence, detectors with fast response to fit the short shaping time of 20 ns and sufficient radiation hardness are required. Measurements carried out at the Ioffe Institute have shown a reversal of the pulse polarity in the detector response to short-range charge injection. Since the measured negative signal is about 30-60% of the peak positive signal, the effect strongly reduces the CCE even in non-irradiated detectors. For further investigation of the phenomenon the measurements have been reproduced by TCAD simulations. As for the measurements, the simulation study was applied for the p-on-n strip detectors similar in geometry to those developed for the ATLAS experiment and for the Ioffe Institute designed p-on-n strip detectors with each strip having a window in the metallization covering the p$^+$ implant, allowing the generation of electron-hole pairs under the strip implant. Red laser scans across the strips and the interstrip gap with varying laser diameters and Si-SiO$_2$ interface charge densities were carried out. The results verify the experimentally observed negative response along the scan in the interstrip gap. When the laser spot is positioned on the strip p$^+$ implant the negative response vanishes and the collected charge at the active strip proportionally increases. The simulation results offer a further insight and understanding of the influence of the oxide charge density in the signal formation. The observed effects and details of the detector response for different charge injection positions are discussed in the context of Ramo's theorem.