Speaker
Description
Devices with internal gain, such as Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) can have O(30) ps timing resolution. They play a crucial role in High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. Similarly, resistive silicon devices, such as AC-coupled LGADs (AC-LGADs) sensors, achieve a fine spatial resolution while maintaining the LGAD’s timing resolution. Devices of both types, with varying gain-layer width and doping characteristics, are produced at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). However, their performance is strongly affected by environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, rapid changes in bias voltage settings, and storage conditions. For example, phonon scattering, which is strongly affected by temperature, plays a central role in avalanche multiplication at higher temperatures, where phonon scattering becomes prominent due to the temperature dependence of the phonon population. As such, the operating conditions, such as noise, gain and breakdown voltage, depend on these variables. In view of applications beyond the controlled environment of HEP experiments, these devices are stress-tested against varying environmental conditions. For example, the challenging operating conditions in outer space impose constraints on the operation performance, against temperature fluctuations. We study how different devices with different depletion layers and implantation characteristics respond to these changing climatic conditions. A systematic evaluation of the response of LGAD sensors as a function of these environmental parameters is therefore of essential importance when accounting for any application. This allows us to map the device performance back to the sensor's characteristics. In turn, this will allow the tailored fabrication of devices resilient to harsh conditions at no cost to the operational performance in controlled environments.
