Speaker
Description
Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) constitute the state-of-the-art in Minimum Ionizing Particles (MIP) timing measurements in High Energy Physics (HEP), providing a time resolution of about 30 ps. These detectors feature an active area of about a few mm$^2$ on a 50~$\mu$m thick silicon and are capable of withstanding fluence up to a few 10$^{15}$ n$_{eq}$/cm$^2$. Due to their exceptional timing capability, LGADs are becoming highly attractive for 4D tracking and time-of-flight systems in astroparticle physics experiments. However, the power consumption constraints and low hit rates of space-based experiments result in larger channel sizes compared to HEP.
In recent years, LGAD technology has been produced with channel sizes up to 1~cm$^2$ to mimic the typical channel size of the silicon microstrip sensors used in many space missions. Measurements from the first production of these 1~cm$^2$ LGADs, with a gain value of 40, indicate a jitter of about 80 ps and a timing resolution of about 150 ps with a radioactive source ($^{90}$Sr). The performance of these detectors was limited by the gain as increasing the bias further would lead the LGAD to breakdown.
To improve the gain and timing resolution of these detectors, a new batch of sensors has been produced. Various design choices have been made to study the non-uniformity in signal shapes and their impact on the timing resolution of large-channel LGAD sensors. This work will present the first electrical characterization, and timing resolution results for the latest production of LGADs for space experiments.
| Workshop topics | Detector systems |
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