arXiv subjects

J. Schwandt

Publications and source records attributed to J. Schwandt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Characterization of afterpulse in SiPMs with single-cell readout as a function of bias voltage and fluence

We present a detailed investigation of the afterpulse effect in silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), using a dedicated structure with single-cell readout. This enables direct measurement of intrinsic device properties and observation of individual pulses even after irradiation. Three independent analysis methods to quantify afterpulse induced events were developed and validated by Monte Carlo simulations. The first method is based on charge integration, while the other two methods use multiple linear regression to reconstruct transient waveforms and accurately identify individual pulse positions. These positions are then used either as direct event counts or to construct time interval distributions, enabling comprehensive characterization of the afterpulse probability and providing insights into the dynamics of trapping in silicon. Using this framework, we measured three SiPM samples: one fresh reference device and two irradiated devices exposed to reactor neutron fluences of 2e12 and 1e13 cm^-2. We report systematic measurements of the afterpulse probability and time constant as functions of bias voltage and irradiation fluence. For overvoltages in the range of 3 to 5 V above breakdown, the afterpulse time constant is found to be below 10 ns and the afterpulse probability below 6%. Both quantities show no significant dependence on irradiation fluence.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

The CMS Phase-2 Fast Beam Condition Monitor prototype test with beam

The Fast Beam Condition Monitor (FBCM) is a standalone luminometer for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) program of the CMS Experiment at CERN. The detector is under development and features a new, radiation-hard, front-end application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for beam monitoring applications. The achieved timing resolution of a few nanoseconds enables the measurement of both the luminosity and the beam-induced background. The ASIC, called FBCM23, features six channels with adjustable shaping times, enabling in-field fine-tuning. Each ASIC channel outputs a single binary asynchronous signal encoding time of arrival and time over threshold information. The FBCM is based on silicon-pad sensors, with two sensor designs presently being considered. This paper presents the results of tests of the FBCM detector prototype using both types of silicon sensors with hadron, muon, and electron beams. Irradiated FBCM23 ASICs and silicon-pad sensors were also tested to simulate the expected conditions near the end of the detector's lifetime in the HL-LHC radiation environment. Based on test results, direct bonding between the sensor and ASIC was chosen, and an optimal bias voltage and ASIC threshold for FBCM operation were proposed. The current design of the front-end test board was validated following the beam test and is now being used for the first front-end module, which is expected to be produced in summer 2025. These results represent a major step forward in validating the FBCM concept, first version of the firmware and establishing a reliable design path for the final detector.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Is the gain-voltage dependence of SiPMs linear?

The gain-voltage dependence for SiPMs from V. Chmill et al., Study of the breakdown voltage of SiPMs, is reanalyzed and a non-linearity at the sub-percent level is observed. Simulations show that he non-linearity can be explained by the increase of the depletion depth of the avalanche region with over-voltage. A consequence of the non-linearity is that the voltage at which the discharge stops is systematically underestimated if a linear extrapolation is used. However, the shift is too small to explain the difference between the break-down voltage from the current-voltage dependence and the one obtained from the extrapolation of the gain-voltage dependence to gain one. The results are confirmed by measurement of a different MPPC produced by Hamamatsu which has a break-down voltage which is about a factor two higher.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Precision determination of the track-position resolution of beam telescopes

Beam tests using tracking telescopes are a standard method for determining the spatial resolution of detectors. This requires the precise knowledge of the position resolution of beam tracks reconstructed at the Device Under Test (DUT). A method is proposed which achieves this using a segmented silicon detector with readout with charge digitization. It is found that the DUT spatial resolution for particles with normal incidence is less than 1 $μ$m for events where clusters consist of two pixels (or strips). Given this accuracy, the residual of the beam track-position at the DUT and the position reconstructed in the DUT provides the beam track-position resolution distribution. The method is developed using simulated events, which are also used to study how to deal with cross-talk, electronics noise, energetic $δ$-electrons, and incident beams with a few degrees off the normal to the sensor plane. To validate the method, the position resolution of beam tracks reconstructed by the EUDET beam telescope of the DESY II Test Beam Facility is determined using a CMS Phase-2 prototype pixel sensor.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Electronics design and testing of the CMS Fast Beam Condition Monitor for HL-LHC

The high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) brings unprecedented requirements for precision bunch-by-bunch luminosity measurement and beam-induced background monitoring in real time. A key component of the CMS Beam Radiation Instrumentation and Luminosity detector system is a stand-alone luminometer, the Fast Beam Condition Monitor (FBCM), which is able to operate independently at all times with a triggerless asynchronous readout. FBCM utilizes a dedicated front-end ASIC to amplify the signals from CO$_2$-cooled silicon-pad sensors with 1 ns timing resolution. Front-end (FE) electronics are subject to high-radiation conditions, thus all components are radiation hardened: sensors, ASICs, transceivers, etc. The FBCM ASIC contains 6 channels, each outputting a high-speed binary signal carrying the time-of-arrival and time-over-threshold information. This signal is sent via a gigabit optical link to the back-end electronics for analysis. A dedicated test system is designed for the FBCM FE electronics with a modular setup for all testing needs of the project from initial ASIC validation test to system-level testing with the full read-out chain. The paper reports on the design, read-out architecture, and testing program for the FBCM electronics.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

SiPM understanding using simple Geiger-breakdown simulations

The results of a 1-D Monte-Carlo program, which simulates the avalanche multiplication in diodes with depths of the order of 1 $μ$m based on the method proposed in Ref.1, are presented. The aim of the study is to achieve a deeper understanding of silicon photo-multipliers. It is found that for a given over-voltage, $\mathit{OV}$, the maximum of the discharge current is reached at the breakdown voltage, $U_\mathit{bd}$, and that the avalanche stops when the voltage drops to $U_\mathit{bd} - \mathit{OV}$. This is completely different to the generally accepted understanding of SiPMs, which has already been noted in Ref.1. Simulated characteristics of the avalanche breakdown, like the time dependence of the avalanche current, over-voltage dependence of the Geiger-breakdown probability and the gain for photons and dark counts, are presented and compared to the expectations from silicon photo-multipliers.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

The CMS Fast Beam Condition Monitor for HL-LHC

The high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC brings unprecedented requirements for real-time and precision bunch-by-bunch online luminosity measurement and beam-induced background monitoring. A key component of the CMS Beam Radiation, Instrumentation and Luminosity system is a stand-alone luminometer, the Fast Beam Condition Monitor (FBCM), which is fully independent from the CMS central trigger and data acquisition services and able to operate at all times with a triggerless readout. FBCM utilizes a dedicated front-end application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to amplify the signals from CO$_2$-cooled silicon-pad sensors with a timing resolution of a few nanoseconds, which enables the measurement of the beam-induced background. FBCM uses a modular design with two half-disks of twelve modules at each end of CMS, with four service modules placed close to the outer edge to reduce radiation-induced aging. The electronics system design adapts several components from the CMS Tracker for power, control and read-out functionalities. The dedicated FBCM23 ASIC contains six channels and adjustable shaping time to optimize the noise with regards to sensor leakage current. Each ASIC channel outputs a single binary high-speed asynchronous signal carrying time-of-arrival and time-over-threshold information. The chip output signal is digitized, encoded and sent via a radiation-hard gigabit transceiver and an optical link to the back-end electronics for analysis. This paper reports on the updated design of the FBCM detector and the ongoing testing program.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Self-heating Effect in Silicon-Photomultipliers

The main effect of radiation damage in a Silicon-Photolumtiplier (SiPM) is a dramatic increase in the dark current. The power dissipated, if not properly cooled, heats the SiPM, whose performance parameters depend on temperature. Heating studies were performed with a KETEK SiPM, glued on an Al$_2$O$_3$ substrate, which is either directly connected to the temperature-controlled chuck of a probe station, or through layers of material with well-known thermal resistance. The SiPM is illuminated by a LED operated in DC-mode. The SiPM current is measured and used to determine the steady-state temperature as a function of power dissipated in the multiplication region of the SiPM and thermal resistance, as well as the time dependencies for heating and cooling. This information can be used to correct the parameters determined for radiation-damaged SiPM for the effects of self-heating. The method can also be employed for packaged SiPMs with unknown thermal contact to a heat sink. The results presented in this paper are preliminary.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Radiation damage uniformity in a SiPM

A dedicated single-cell SiPM structure is designed and measured to investigate the radiation damage effects on the gain and breakdown voltage of SiPMs exposed to a reactor neutron fluence up to $Φ$ = 5e13 cm$^{-2}$. The cell has a pitch of 15 $μ$m. Results of the measurements and analysis of the IV-curves are presented. Impact of the self-heating effect was investigated. The radiation damage uniformity of 1 cell and 120 cells was checked up to $U_\mathit{ov}$ = 1.7 V. Fluence dependence of the breakdown voltage from the current measurements $U^{IV}_\mathit{bd}$ was extracted and compared to that of the breakdown voltage from the gain measurements $U^{G}_\mathit{bd}$.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Study of the band-gap energy of radiation-damaged silicon

The transmission of silicon crystals irradiated by 24 GeV/c protons and reactor neutrons has been measured for photon energies, $Eγ$, between 0.95 and 1.3 eV. From the transmission data the absorption coefficient $α$ is calculated, and from $α(E_γ)$ the fluence dependence of the band-gap energy, $E_{gap}$, and the energy of transverse optical phonons, $E_{ph}$, determined. It is found that within the experimental uncertainties of about 1 meV neither $E_{gap}$ nor $E_{ph}$ depend on fluence up to the maximum fluence of $1 \times 10^{17}$ cm$^{-2}$ of the measurements. The value of $E_{gap}$ agrees within about 1 meV with the generally accepted value, if an exciton-binding energy of 15 meV is assumed. A similar agreement is found for $E_{ph}$. For the extraction of $E_{gap}$ and $E_{ph}$ the second derivative of $\sqrt{α(Eγ )}$ smoothed with a Gaussian kernel has been used.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2021

Can the electric field in radiation-damaged silicon pad diodes be determined by admittance and current measurements?

A method is proposed for determining the electric field in highly-irradiated silicon pad diodes using admittance-frequency (Y-f ), and current measurements (I). The method is applied to Y-f and I data from square n+p diodes of 25mm2 area irradiated by 24 GeV/c protons to four 1MeV neutron equivalent fluences between 3E15 cm^2 and 13E15 cm^2. The measurement conditions were: Reverse voltages between 1V and 1000V, frequencies between 100Hz and 2MHz and temperatures of -20°C and -30°C. The position dependence of the electric field is parameterised by a linear dependence at the two sides of the diode, and a constant in the centre. The parameters as a function of voltage, temperature and irradiation fluence are determined by fits of the model to the data. For voltages below about 300V all data are well described by the model, and the results for the electric field agrees with expectations: Depleted high-field regions towards the two faces and a constant low electric field in the centre, with values which agrees with the field in an ohmic resistor with approximately the intrinsic resistivity of silicon. For conditions at which the low field region disappears and the diode is fully depleted, the method fails. This happens around 300V for the lowest irradiation fluence at -30°C, and at higher voltages for higher fluences and lower temperatures. In the conclusions the successes and problems of the method are discussed.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Radiation hardness study using SiPMs with single-cell readout

A dedicated single-cell SiPM structure is designed and measured to investigate the radiation damage effects on the gain and turn-off voltage of SiPMs exposed to a reactor neutron fluence up to $Φ$ = 5e13 cm$^{-2}$. The cell has a pitch of 15 $μ$m. The fluence dependence of gain and turn-off voltage are reported. A reduction of the gain by 19% and an increase of $V_{off}$ by $\approx$0.5 V is observed after $Φ$ = 5e13 cm$^{-2}$.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Position reconstruction for segmented detectors

The topic of the paper is the position reconstruction from signals of segmented detectors. With the help of a simple simulation, it is shown that the position reconstruction using the centre-of-gravity method is strongly biased, if the width of the charge (or e.g. light) distribution at the electrodes (or photo detectors) is less than the read-out pitch. A method is proposed which removes this bias for events with signals in two or more read-out channels and thereby improves the position resolution. The method also provides an estimate of the position-response function for every event. Examples are given for which its width as a function of the reconstructed position varies by as much as an order of magnitude. A fast Monte Carlo program is described which simulates the signals from a silicon pixel detector traversed by charged particles under different angles, and the results obtained with the proposed reconstruction method and with the centre-of-gravity method are compared. The simulation includes the local energy-loss fluctuations, the position-dependent electric field, the diffusion of the charge carriers, the electronics noise and charge thresholds for clustering. A comparison to test-beam-data is used to validate the simulation.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Position resolution with 25 um pitch pixel sensors before and after irradiation

Pixelated silicon detectors are state-of-the-art technology to achieve precise tracking and vertexing at collider experiments, designed to accurately measure the hit position of incoming particles in high rate and radiation environments. The detector requirements become extremely demanding for operation at the High-Luminosity LHC, where up to 200 interactions will overlap in the same bunch crossing on top of the process of interest. Additionally, fluences up to 2.3 10^16 cm^-2 1 MeV neutron equivalent at 3.0 cm distance from the beam are expected for an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb^-1. In the last decades, the pixel pitch has constantly been reduced to cope with the experiment's needs of achieving higher position resolution and maintaining low pixel occupancy per channel. The spatial resolution improves with a decreased pixel size but it degrades with radiation damage. Therefore, prototype sensor modules for the upgrade of the experiments at the HL-LHC need to be tested after being irradiated. This paper describes position resolution measurements on planar prototype sensors with 100x25 um^2 pixels for the CMS Phase-2 Upgrade. It reviews the dependence of the position resolution on the relative inclination angle between the incoming particle trajectory and the sensor, the charge threshold applied by the readout chip, and the bias voltage. A precision setup with three parallel planes of sensors has been used to investigate the performance of sensors irradiated to fluences up to F_eq = 3.6 10^15 cm-2. The measurements were performed with a 5 GeV electron beam. A spatial resolution of 3.2 +\- 0.1 um is found for non-irradiated sensors, at the optimal angle for charge sharing. The resolution is 5.0 +/- 0.2 um for a proton-irradiated sensor at F_eq = 2.1 10^15 cm-2 and a neutron-irradiated sensor at F_eq = 3.6 10^15 cm^-2.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

A computer program to simulate the response of SiPMs

A Monte Carlo program which simulates the response of SiPMs is presented. Input to the program are the mean number and the time distribution of Geiger discharges from light, as well as the dark-count rate. For every primary Geiger discharge from light and dark counts in an event, correlated Geiger discharges due to prompt and delayed cross-talk and after-pulses are simulated, and a table of the amplitudes and times of all Geiger discharges in a specified time window generated. A number of different physics-based models and statistical treatments for the simulation of correlated Geiger discharges can be selected. These lists for many events together with different options for the pulse shapes of single Geiger discharges are used to simulate charge spectra, as measured by a current-integrating charge-to-digital converter, or current transients convolved with an electronics response function, as recorded by a digital oscilloscope. The program can be used to compare simulations with different assumptions to experimental data, and thus find out which models are most appropriate for a given SiPM, optimise the operating conditions and readout for a given application or test programs which are used to extract SiPM parameters from experimental data.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Determination of the electric field in highly-irradiated silicon sensors using edge-TCT measurements

A method is presented which allows to obtain the position-dependent electric field and charge density by fits to velocity profiles from edge-TCT data from silicon strip-detectors. The validity and the limitations of the method are investigated by simulations of non-irradiated $n^+p$ pad sensors and by the analysis of edge-TCT data from non-irradiated $n^+p$ strip-detectors. The method is then used to determine the position dependent electric field and charge density in $n^+p$ strip detectors irradiated by reactor neutrons to fluences between 1 and $10 \times 10^{15}$ cm$^{-2}$ for forward-bias voltages between 25 V and up to 550 V and for reverse-bias voltages between 50 V and 800 V. In all cases the velocity profiles are well described. The electric fields and charge densities determined provide quantitative insights into the effects of radiation damage for silicon sensors by reactor neutrons.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Detector Technologies for CLIC

The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a high-energy high-luminosity linear electron-positron collider under development. It is foreseen to be built and operated in three stages, at centre-of-mass energies of 380 GeV, 1.5 TeV and 3 TeV, respectively. It offers a rich physics program including direct searches as well as the probing of new physics through a broad set of precision measurements of Standard Model processes, particularly in the Higgs-boson and top-quark sectors. The precision required for such measurements and the specific conditions imposed by the beam dimensions and time structure put strict requirements on the detector design and technology. This includes low-mass vertexing and tracking systems with small cells, highly granular imaging calorimeters, as well as a precise hit-time resolution and power-pulsed operation for all subsystems. A conceptual design for the CLIC detector system was published in 2012. Since then, ambitious R&D programmes for silicon vertex and tracking detectors, as well as for calorimeters have been pursued within the CLICdp, CALICE and FCAL collaborations, addressing the challenging detector requirements with innovative technologies. This report introduces the experimental environment and detector requirements at CLIC and reviews the current status and future plans for detector technology R&D.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Analysis methods for highly radiation-damaged SiPMs

Prototype SiPMs with 4384 pixels of dimensions $15 \times 15~μ$m$^2$ produced by KETEK have been irradiated with reactor neutrons to eight fluences between $10^9$ and $5\times 10^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$. For temperatures between $-30~^\circ $C and $+30~^\circ $C capacitance-voltage, admittance-frequency, current-forward voltage, current-reverse voltage and charge-voltage measurements with and without illumination by a sub-nanosecond laser have been performed. The data have been analysed using different methods in order to extract the dependence on neutron fluence and temperature of the electrical parameters, the breakdown oltage, the activation energy for the current generation, the dark-count rate and the response to light pulses. The results from the different analysis methods are compared.

physics.ins-det↗