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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Time-resolved synchrotron light source X-ray detection with Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes

Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) represent the state-of-the-art in timing measurements and will instrument future timing detectors at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) experiments. While conceived as a sensor for charged particles, the intrinsic gain of LGADs makes it possible to detect low energy X-rays with good energy resolution and excellent timing (tens of picoseconds). Here, using the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC, several LGADs designs were characterized with energies from 5 to 35 keV. The SSRL provides 10 ps pulsed X-ray bunches separated by 2.1 ns intervals, and with an energy dispersion (ΔE/E) of 1 X 10 -4 . LGADs fabricated by Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) with different thicknesses ranging from 20 µm to 50 µm and different gain layer designs were read out a two stage fast amplification circuit and digitized with a high bandwidth, high sampling rate oscilloscope. PIN devices from HPK were characterized as well. A systematic and detailed characterization of the devices’ energy linearity, resolution and timing resolution as a function of X-ray energy was performed for different biasing voltages at room temperature

Charge multiplication↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diffused trenches for high fill-factor Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes

Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) are a class of silicon detectors that have been specifically designed for the fast detection of minimum ionizing particles (mips) in High-Energy Physics experiments. While they provide timing resolution on the order of a few tens of picoseconds, they cannot achieve high spatial resolution due to the intrinsic characteristics of their structures. Thus, active R&D is on-going to develop detectors based on LGADs to improve their spatial resolution while maintaining the timing performance of the LGADs. Such devices are, for example, AC-coupled LGADs and Deep-Junction LGADs. Another device option is the Trench-Isolated LGAD (TI LGAD), where trenches etched at the periphery of the pixels isolate them while providing a high fill-factor. Here, in this paper, we present a variation of this latter approach, demonstrating its feasibility by means of 2-dimensional TCAD simulations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fabrication of Silicon Sensors Based on Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes

Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes are a recently-developed class of silicon sensors. Characterized by an internal moderate gain that enhances the signal amplitude and if built on thin silicon substrates of a few tens of microns, they feature fast signals and exhibit excellent timing performance. Thanks to their fast timing they are planned to be exploited in timing detectors in High-Energy Physics experiments, for example for the upgrades of the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) at CERN. However, to achieve a spatially uniform multiplication a large pixel pitch is needed, preventing a fine spatial resolution. To overcome this limitation, the AC-coupled LGAD approach was introduced. In this type of device, metal electrodes are placed over an insulator at a fine pitch, and signals are capacitively induced on these electrodes. The fabrication technology is similar for the two LGAD families, although a fine tuning of a few process parameters needs to be carefully studied. Other R&D efforts towards detectors that can simultaneously provide good time and spatial resolution, based on the LGAD concept, are under way. These efforts aim also to mitigate the loss of performance at high irradiation fluences due to the acceptor removal within the gain layer. In this paper we describe the main points in the fabrication of LGADs and AC-LGADs in a clean-room. We also discuss novel efforts carried on related topics.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Synchrotron light source X-ray detection with Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes

Abstract Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) represent the state-of-the-art in timing measurements and will instrument the future Timing Detectors of ATLAS and CMS for the High-Luminosity LHC. While initially conceived as a sensor for charged particles, the intrinsic gain of LGADs makes it possible to detect low-energy X-rays with good energy resolution and excellent time resolution (tens of picoseconds). Using the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC, several LGADs designs were characterized with energies from 5 to 70 keV. The SSRL provides 10 ps pulsed X-ray bunches separated by 2 ns intervals with an energy dispersion (ΔE/E) of 10 -4 . LGADs from Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) with different thicknesses ranging from 20 μm to 50 μm and different gain layer designs were read out using fast amplification boards and digitized with a high bandwidth and high sampling rate oscilloscope. PIN devices from HPK and AC-LGADs from BNL were characterized as well. A systematic and detailed characterization of the devices' energy linearity, resolution, and time resolution as a function of X-ray energy was performed for different biasing voltages at room temperature and are reported in this work. The charge collection and multiplication mechanism were simulated using Geant4 and TCAD Sentaurus, providing an important handle for interpreting the data.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spectroscopic performance of Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes for different types of radiation

LGADs (Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes or Detectors) are a type of silicon Avalanche Photo-Diodes originally developed for the fast detection of minimum ionizing particles in high-energy physics experiments. Thanks to their fast timing performance, the LGAD paradigm enables detectors to accurately measure minimum ionizing particles with a timing resolution of a few tens of picoseconds. Such a performance is due to a thin substrate and the presence of a moderate signal gain. This internal gain of a few tens is enough to compensate for the reduced charge deposition in the thinner substrate and the noise of fast read-out systems. While LGADs are optimized for the detection of minimum ionizing particles for high-energy particle detectors, it is critical to study their performance for the detection of different types of particle, such as X-rays, gamma-rays, or alphas. In this paper, we evaluate the gain of three types of LGADs: two devices with different geometries and doping profiles fabricated by Brookhaven National Laboratory, and one fabricated by Hamamatsu Photonics with a different process. Since the gain in LGADs depends on the bias voltage applied to the sensor, pulse-height spectra have been acquired for bias voltages spanning from the depletion voltage up to the breakdown voltage. Finally, the signal-to-noise ratio of the generated signals and the shape of their spectra allow us to probe the underlying physics of the multiplication process.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Scintillation event imaging with a single photon avalanche diode camera

Position and time measurements of scintillation events encode information about the radiation source. Single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays offer multiple-megapixel spatial resolution and tens of picoseconds temporal resolution for detecting single photons. Current lensless designs for measuring scintillation events use sensors that are lower in spatial resolution. Camera-based designs use sensors that are lower in temporal resolution or readout rate and cannot image individual interactions. Here we propose to image scintillation events in a thick, monolithic scintillator using a high-resolution SPAD camera. We demonstrate that a commercial SPAD camera is able to gather sufficient signal to image individual scintillation events and observe 3D shifts in their spatial distribution. Simulations show that a SPAD camera can localize individual scintillation events in 3D. We report direct imaging of gamma-ray interactions in a scintillator with a SPAD camera. The proposed design may allow to measure complex signatures of individual particles interacting in the scintillator.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Light-sheet autofluorescence lifetime imaging with a single-photon avalanche diode array

Significance: Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of the metabolic co-enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) [NAD(P)H] is a popular method to monitor single-cell metabolism within unperturbed, living 3D systems. However, FLIM of NAD(P)H has not been performed in a light-sheet geometry, which is advantageous for rapid imaging of cells within live 3D samples. Aim: We aim to design, validate, and demonstrate a proof-of-concept light-sheet system for NAD(P)H FLIM. Approach: A single-photon avalanche diode camera was integrated into a light sheet microscope to achieve optical sectioning and limit out-of-focus contributions for NAD(P)H FLIM of single cells. Results: An NAD(P)H light-sheet FLIM system was built and validated with fluores cence lifetime standards and with time-course imaging of metabolic perturbations in pancreas cancer cells with 10 s integration times. NAD(P)H light-sheet FLIM in vivo was demonstrated with live neutrophil imaging in a larval zebrafish tail wound also with 10 s integration times. Finally, the theoretical and practical imaging speeds for NAD(P)H FLIM were compared across laser scanning and light-sheet geometries, indicating a 30× to 6× acquisition speed advantage for the light sheet compared to the laser scanning geometry. Conclusions: FLIM of NAD(P)H is feasible in a light-sheet geometry and is attrac tive for 3D live cell imaging applications, such as monitoring immune cell metabolism and migration within an organism.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

UV hybrid photon detector based on GaN photocathodes and Si low gain avalanche diode

Photon detectors featuring single-photon sensitivity play a crucial role in various scientific domains, including high-energy physics, astronomy, and quantum optics. Fast response time, high quantum efficiency, and minimal dark counts are the characteristics that render them ideal candidates for detecting individual photons with exceptional signal-to-noise ratios, at frequencies in the range of hundreds of MHz. Here, in this study, we report on our first design and operational results on a Hybrid Photon Detector (HPD) that combines the high quantum efficiency of a Gallium Nitride (GaN) photocathode and the low noise characteristics of a Si-based Low-Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD). This hybrid detection scheme has the potential to reach single-photon detection sensitivity with high quantum efficiency, low noise levels and capable of operating at hundreds of MHz repetition rates.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Radiation hardness of the low gain avalanche diodes developed by NDL and IHEP in China

This paper presents a study on the radiation hardness of low gain avalanche detector (LGAD) developed by the Novel Device Laboratory (NDL) in Beijing and the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, in the context of an upgrade project of the ATLAS detector for the high luminosity phase of LHC. NDL LGAD sensors with different layouts, epitaxial resistivity and doping profile were irradiated up to 1.02 × 10 15 n eq /cm 2 by 70 MeV protons at Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center (CYRIC). The timing resolution of NDL LGAD sensors reached 50 ps and the collected charge reached 3 - 4 fC after irradiation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamic-quenching of a single-photon avalanche photodetector using an adaptive resistive switch

One of the most common approaches for quenching single-photon avalanche diodes is to use a passive resistor in series with it. A drawback of this approach has been the limited recovery speed of the single-photon avalanche diodes. High resistance is needed to quench the avalanche, leading to slower recharging of the single-photon avalanche diodes depletion capacitor. We address this issue by replacing a fixed quenching resistor with a bias-dependent adaptive resistive switch. Reversible generation of metallic conduction enables switching between low and high resistance states under unipolar bias. As an example, using a Pt/Al 2 O 3 /Ag resistor with a commercial silicon single-photon avalanche diodes, we demonstrate avalanche pulse widths as small as ~30 ns, 10× smaller than a passively quenched approach, thus significantly improving the single-photon avalanche diodes frequency response. The experimental results are consistent with a model where the adaptive resistor dynamically changes its resistance during discharging and recharging the single-photon avalanche diodes.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

GaN-on-GaN p-i-n diodes with avalanche capability enabled by eliminating surface leakage with hydrogen plasma treatment

Traditional mesa terminations require precise angle design to reduce the electric field at the edge and surface treatment to reduce etch damage. Otherwise, the device usually suffers a premature breakdown. This work proposes the use of easy-to-implement hydrogen plasma treatment to solve the premature breakdown caused by mesa and demonstrates the avalanche capability in GaN-on-GaN p-i-n diodes. The breakdown electric field when the avalanche occurred was ∼2.3 MV/cm at room temperature for a GaN drift layer with a doping concentration of ∼7 × 1015 cm−3, which is consistent with the theoretical value. The temperature coefficient of the avalanche breakdown voltage of the devices was 4.64–4.85 × 10−4 K−1. This work shows a simple and effective approach to achieve avalanche capability in vertical GaN power devices, which can serve as an important reference for the future development of efficient and robust GaN power electronics.

Fu, Kai (ORCID:0000000294057512)↗
DOE OSTI2025

AC-LGADs Fermilab front-end electronics characterization

Here, we characterized the front-end electronics used to process high-frequency signals from low-gain avalanche diodes (LGADs) at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. LGADs are silicon detectors employed for charged particle tracking, offering exceptional spatial and temporal resolution. The purpose of this characterization was to understand how the time resolution is influenced by the front-end electronics. To achieve this, we developed a setup capable of generating input signals with varying amplitudes. The output results demonstrated that signal processing by the front-end electronics plays a crucial role in enhancing time resolution. We showed that the time resolution achieved by the FEE board is better than 2 p s at the 1 σ level.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Gain characterization of LGAD sensors with beta particles and 28-MeV protons

Low Gain Avalanche Diodes, also known as LGADs, are widely considered for fast-timing applications in high energy physics, nuclear physics, space science, medical imaging, and precision measurements of rare processes. Such devices are silicon-based and feature an intrinsic gain due to a p + -doped layer that allows the production of a controlled avalanche of carriers, with multiplication on the order of 10–100. This technology can provide time resolution on the order of 20–30 ps, and variants of this technology can provide precision tracking too. The characterization of LGAD performance has so far primarily been focused on the interaction of minimum ionizing particles for high energy and nuclear physics applications. This article expands the study of LGAD performance to highly-ionizing particles, such as 28-MeV protons, which are relevant for several future scientific applications, e.g. in biology and medical physics, among others. These studies were performed with a beam of 28-MeV protons from a tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at Brookhaven National Laboratory and beta particles from a ^90Sr source; these were used to characterize the response and the gain of an LGAD as a function of bias voltage and collected charge. Here, the experimental results are also compared to TCAD simulations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

LGAD-Based Silicon Sensors for 4D Detectors

Low-Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGAD) are a class of silicon sensors developed for the fast detection of Minimum Ionizing Particles (MIPs). The development was motivated by the need of resolving piled-up tracks of charged particles emerging from several vertexes originating from the same bunch-crossing in High-Energy Physics (HEP) collider experiments, which, however, are separated not only in space but also in time by a few tens of picoseconds. Built on thin silicon substrates and featuring an internal moderate gain, they provide fast signals for excellent timing performance, which are therefore useful to distinguish the different tracks. Unfortunately, this comes at the price of poor spatial resolution. To overcome this limitation, other families of LGAD-based silicon sensors which can deliver in the same substrate both excellent timing and spatial information are under development. Such devices are, to name a few, capacitively coupled LGADs (AC-LGAD), deep-junction LGADs (DJ-LGAD) and trench-isolated LGADs (TI-LGADs). These devices can be fabricated by even small-scale research-focused clean rooms for faster development within the scientific community. However, to scale up production, efforts towards integrating these sensor concepts in CMOS substrates, with the obvious advantage of the possibility of integrating part of the read-out electronics in the same substrate, have begun.

spatial resolution↗
DOE OSTI2021

Resistive AC-Coupled Silicon Detectors: principles of operation and first results from a combined analysis of beam test and laser data

This paper presents the principles of operation of Resistive AC-Coupled Silicon Detectors (RSDs) and measurements of the temporal and spatial resolutions using a combined analysis of laser and beam test data. RSDs are a new type of n-in-p silicon sensor based on the Low-Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD) technology, where the n+ implant has been designed to be resistive, and the read-out is obtained via AC-coupling. The truly innovative feature of RSD is that the signal generated by an impinging particle is shared isotropically among multiple read-out pads without the need for floating electrodes or an external magnetic field. Careful tuning of the coupling oxide thickness and the n+ doping profile is at the basis of the successful functioning of this device. Several RSD matrices with different pad width-pitch geometries have been extensively tested with a laser setup in the Laboratory for Innovative Silicon Sensors in Torino, while a smaller set of devices have been tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility with a 120 GeV/c proton beam. The measured spatial resolution ranges between 2.5μm for 70–100 pad-pitch geometry and 17μm with 200–500 matrices, a factor of 10 better than what is achievable in binary read-out (bin size/12). Beam test data show a temporal resolution of ~40ps for 200 μm pitch devices, in line with the best performances of LGAD sensors at the same gain.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗