Experimental and simulation study of irradiated silicon pad detectors for the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter

TL;DR

This study evaluates the performance of irradiated silicon pad detectors for the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter, combining experimental measurements and simulations to ensure radiation hardness for HL-LHC conditions.

Contribution

It provides new data on neutron-irradiated silicon detectors and compares experimental results with simulations, aiding the development of radiation-tolerant sensors for HL-LHC.

Findings

Neutron irradiation affects silicon detector electrical characteristics.

Simulation results align with experimental measurements.

Performance data supports detector design for high radiation environments.

Abstract

The foreseen upgrade of the LHC to its high luminosity phase (HL-LHC), will maximize the physics potential of the facility. The upgrade is expected to increase the instantaneous luminosity by a factor of 5 and deliver an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb-1 after 10 years of operation. As a result of the corresponding increase in radiation and pileup, the electromagnetic calorimetry in the CMS endcaps will sustain maximum integrated doses of 1.5 MGy and neutron fluences above 1e16 neq/cm2, necessitating their replacement for HL-LHC operation. The CMS collaboration has decided to replace the existing endcap electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters by a High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) that will provide unprecedented information on electromagnetic and hadronic showers in the very high pileup of the HL-LHC. In order to employ Si detectors in HGCAL and to address the challenges brought by the intense radiation environment, an extensive R&D program has been initiated, comprising production of prototype sensors of various types, sizes and thicknesses, their qualification before and after irradiation to the expected levels, and accompanying simulation studies. The ongoing investigation presented here includes measurements of current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics, along with predicted charge collection efficiences of the sensors irradiated to levels expected for the HGCAL at HL-LHC. The status of the study and the first results of the performance of neutron irradiated Si detectors, as well as their comparison with numerical simulations, are presented.