arXiv subjects

N. A. Smith

Publications and source records attributed to N. A. Smith.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

The LHCb VELO Upgrade Module Construction

The LHCb detector has undergone a major upgrade for LHC Run 3. This Upgrade I detector facilitates operation at higher luminosity and utilises full-detector information at the LHC collision rate, critically including the use of vertex information. A new vertex locator system, the VELO Upgrade, has been constructed. The core element of the new VELO are the double-sided pixelated hybrid silicon detector modules which operate in vacuum close to the LHC beam in a high radiation environment. The construction and quality assurance tests of these modules are described in this paper. The modules incorporate 200 \mum thick, n-on-p silicon sensors bump-bonded to 130 \nm technology ASICs. These are attached with high precision to a silicon microchannel substrate that uses evaporative CO$_2$ cooling. The ASICs are controlled and read out with flexible printed circuits that are glued to the substrate and wire-bonded to the chips. The mechanical support of the module is given by a carbon fibre plate, two carbon fibre rods and an aluminium plate. The sensor attachment was achieved with an average precision of 21 $\mathrm{μm}$, more than 99.5\% of all pixels are fully functional, and a thermal figure of merit of 3 \mathrm{Kcm^{2}W^{-1}}$ was achieved. The production of the modules was successfully completed in 2021, with the final assembly and installation completed in time for data taking in 2022.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

ARIADNE -- A Novel Optical LArTPC: Technical Design Report and Initial Characterisation using a Secondary Beam from the CERN PS and Cosmic Muons

ARIADNE is a 1-ton (330 kg fiducial mass) dual-phase liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC) featuring a novel optical readout. Four electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) cameras are mounted externally, and these capture the secondary scintillation light produced in the holes of a thick electron gas multiplier (THGEM). Track reconstruction using this novel readout approach is demonstrated. Optical readout has the potential to be a cost effective alternative to charge readout in future LArTPCs. In this paper, the technical design of the detector is detailed. Results of mixed particle detection using a secondary beam from the CERN PS (representing the first ever optical images of argon interactions in a dual-phase LArTPC at a beamline) and cosmic muon detection at the University of Liverpool are also presented.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2018

Mapping the material in the LHCb vertex locator using secondary hadronic interactions

Precise knowledge of the location of the material in the LHCb vertex locator (VELO) is essential to reducing background in searches for long-lived exotic particles, and in identifying jets that originate from beauty and charm quarks. Secondary interactions of hadrons produced in beam-gas collisions are used to map the location of material in the VELO. Using this material map, along with properties of a reconstructed secondary vertex and its constituent tracks, a $p$-value can be assigned to the hypothesis that the secondary vertex originates from a material interaction. A validation of this procedure is presented using photon conversions to dimuons.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

First Demonstration of Imaging Cosmic Muons in a Two-Phase Liquid Argon TPC using an EMCCD Camera and a THGEM

Colossal two-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LAr TPCs) are a proposed option for future long-baseline neutrino experiments. This study illustrates the feasibility of using an EMCCD camera to capture light induced by single cosmic events in a two-phase LAr TPC employing a THGEM. An Andor iXon Ultra 897 EMCCD camera was externally mounted via a borosilicate glass viewport on the Liverpool two-phase LAr TPC. The camera successfully captured the secondary scintillation light produced at the THGEM holes that had been induced by cosmic events. The light collection capability of the camera for various EMCCD gains was assessed. For a THGEM gain of 64 and an EMCCD gain of 1000, clear images were captured with an average signal-to-noise ratio of 6. Preliminary 3D reconstruction of straight cosmic muon tracks has been performed by combining the camera images, PMT signals and THGEM charge data. Reconstructed cosmic muon tracks were used to determine THGEM gain and to calibrate the intensity levels of the EMCCD image.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Performance of the LHCb Vertex Locator

The Vertex Locator (VELO) is a silicon microstrip detector that surrounds the proton-proton interaction region in the LHCb experiment. The performance of the detector during the first years of its physics operation is reviewed. The system is operated in vacuum, uses a bi-phase CO2 cooling system, and the sensors are moved to 7 mm from the LHC beam for physics data taking. The performance and stability of these characteristic features of the detector are described, and details of the material budget are given. The calibration of the timing and the data processing algorithms that are implemented in FPGAs are described. The system performance is fully characterised. The sensors have a signal to noise ratio of approximately 20 and a best hit resolution of 4 microns is achieved at the optimal track angle. The typical detector occupancy for minimum bias events in standard operating conditions in 2011 is around 0.5%, and the detector has less than 1% of faulty strips. The proximity of the detector to the beam means that the inner regions of the n+-on-n sensors have undergone space-charge sign inversion due to radiation damage. The VELO performance parameters that drive the experiment's physics sensitivity are also given. The track finding efficiency of the VELO is typically above 98% and the modules have been aligned to a precision of 1 micron for translations in the plane transverse to the beam. A primary vertex resolution of 13 microns in the transverse plane and 71 microns along the beam axis is achieved for vertices with 25 tracks. An impact parameter resolution of less than 35 microns is achieved for particles with transverse momentum greater than 1 GeV/c.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Optical Readout of a Two Phase Liquid Argon TPC using CCD Camera and THGEMs

This paper presents a preliminary study into the use of CCDs to image secondary scintillation light generated by THick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEMs) in a two phase LAr TPC. A Sony ICX285AL CCD chip was mounted above a double THGEM in the gas phase of a 40 litre two-phase LAr TPC with the majority of the camera electronics positioned externally via a feedthrough. An Am-241 source was mounted on a rotatable motion feedthrough allowing the positioning of the alpha source either inside or outside of the field cage. Developed for and incorporated into the TPC design was a novel high voltage feedthrough featuring LAr insulation. Furthermore, a range of webcams were tested for operation in cryogenics as an internal detector monitoring tool. Of the range of webcams tested the Microsoft HD-3000 (model no:1456) webcam was found to be superior in terms of noise and lowest operating temperature. In ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure 1 ppm pure argon gas, the THGEM gain was approximately 1000 and using a 1 msec exposure the CCD captured single alpha tracks. Successful operation of the CCD camera in two-phase cryogenic mode was also achieved. Using a 10 sec exposure a photograph of secondary scintillation light induced by the Am-241 source in LAr has been captured for the first time.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv1996

Performance of The ATLAS_A Silcion Detector with Analogue Read Out

The performace of an ATLAS-A silicon micro-strip detector prototype with FELIX 128 analogue read out chip has been studied. The noise level and the signal to noise ratio have been measured as a funtion of both detector bias and temperature. No evidence of micro-discharge was observed for detector bias voltages up to 300 V.

hep-ex↗