arXiv subjects

P. Meridiani

Publications and source records attributed to P. Meridiani.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The CMS Barrel Timing Layer: test beam confirmation of module timing performance

First of its kind, the barrel section of the MIP Timing Detector is a large area timing detector based on LYSO:Ce crystals and SiPMs which are required to operate in an unprecedentedly harsh radiation environment (up to an integrated fluence of $2\times10^{14}$ 1 MeV $n_{eq}/cm^2$). It is designed as a key element of the upgrade of the existing CMS detector to provide a time resolution for minimum ionizing particles in the range between 30-60 ps throughout the entire operation at the High Luminosity LHC. A thorough optimization of its components has led to the final detector module layout which exploits 25 $\rm \mu m$ cell size SiPMs and 3.75 mm thick crystals. This design achieved the target performance in a series of test beam campaigns. In this paper we present test beam results which demonstrate the desired performance of detector modules in terms of radiation tolerance, time resolution and response uniformity.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Optimization of LYSO crystals and SiPM parameters for the CMS MIP timing detector

For the High-Luminosity (HL-LHC) phase, the upgrade of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN will include a novel MIP Timing Detector (MTD). The central part of MTD, the barrel timing layer (BTL), is designed to provide a measurement of the time of arrival of charged particles with a precision of 30 ps at the beginning of HL-LHC, progressively degrading to 60 ps while operating in an extremely harsh radiation environment for over a decade. In this paper we present a comparative analysis of the time resolution of BTL module prototypes made of LYSO:Ce crystal bars read out by silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs). The timing performance measured in beam test campaigns is presented for prototypes with different construction and operation parameters, such as different SiPM cell sizes (15, 20, 25 and 30 $\rm \mu m$), SiPM manufacturers and crystal bar thicknesses. The evolution of time resolution as a function of the irradiation level has been studied using non-irradiated SiPMs as well as SiPMs exposed up to $2\times 10^{14}~n_{eq}/cm^2$ fluence. The key parameters defining the module time resolution such as SiPM characteristics (gain, photon detection efficiency, radiation induced dark count rate) and crystal properties (light output and dimensions) are discussed. These results have informed the final choice of the MTD barrel sensor configuration and offer a unique starting point for the design of future large-area scintillator-based timing detectors in either low or high radiation environments.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

Integration of thermo-electric coolers into the CMS MTD SiPM arrays for operation under high neutron fluence

The barrel section of the novel MIP Timing Detector (MTD) will be constructed as part of the upgrade of the CMS experiment to provide a time resolution for single charged tracks in the range of $30-60$ ps using LYSO:Ce crystal arrays read out with Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). A major challenge for the operation of such a detector is the extremely high radiation level, of about $2\times10^{14}$ 1 MeV(Si) Eqv. n/cm$^2$, that will be integrated over a decade of operation of the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). Silicon Photomultipliers exposed to this level of radiation have shown a strong increase in dark count rate and radiation damage effects that also impact their gain and photon detection efficiency. For this reason during operations the whole detector is cooled down to about $-35^{\circ}$C. In this paper we illustrate an innovative and cost-effective solution to mitigate the impact of radiation damage on the timing performance of the detector, by integrating small thermo-electric coolers (TECs) on the back of the SiPM package. This additional feature, fully integrated as part of the SiPM array, enables a further decrease in operating temperature down to about $-45^{\circ}$C. This leads to a reduction by a factor of about two in the dark count rate without requiring additional power budget, since the power required by the TEC is almost entirely offset by a decrease in the power required for the SiPM operation due to leakage current. In addition, the operation of the TECs with reversed polarity during technical stops of the accelerator can raise the temperature of the SiPMs up to $60^{\circ}$C (about $50^{\circ}$C higher than the rest of the detector), thus accelerating the annealing of radiation damage effects and partly recovering the SiPM performance.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

Comparative characterization study of LYSO:Ce crystals for timing applications

Cerium-doped Lutetium-Yttrium Oxyorthosilicate (LYSO:Ce)is one of the most widely used Cerium-doped Lutetium based scintillation crystals. Initially developed for medical detectors it rapidly became attractive for High Energy Particle Physics (HEP) applications, especially in the frame of high luminosity particle colliders. In this paper, a comprehensive and systematic study of LYSO:Ce ($[Lu_{(1-x)}Y_x]_2SiO_5$:$Ce$) crystals is presented. It involves for the first time a large number of crystal samples (180) of the same size from a dozen of producers.The study consists of a comparative characterization of LYSO:Ce crystal products available on the market by mechanical, optical and scintillation measurements and aims specifically, to investigate key parameters of timing applications for HEP.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Response of microchannel plates in ionization mode to single particles and electromagnetic showers

Hundreds of concurrent collisions per bunch crossing are expected at future hadron colliders. Precision timing calorimetry has been advocated as a way to mitigate the pileup effects and, thanks to their excellent time resolution, microchannel plates (MCPs) are good candidate detectors for this goal. We report on the response of MCPs, used as secondary emission detectors, to single relativistic particles and to electromagnetic showers. Several prototypes, with different geometries and characteristics, were exposed to particle beams at the INFN-LNF Beam Test Facility and at CERN. Their time resolution and efficiency are measured for single particles and as a function of the multiplicity of particles. Efficiencies between 50% and 90% to single relativistic particles are reached, and up to 100% in presence of a large number of particles. Time resolutions between 20ps and 30ps are obtained.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Performance of a Tungsten-Cerium Fluoride Sampling Calorimeter in High-Energy Electron Beam Tests

A prototype for a sampling calorimeter made out of cerium fluoride crystals interleaved with tungsten plates, and read out by wavelength-shifting fibres, has been exposed to beams of electrons with energies between 20 and 150 GeV, produced by the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator complex. The performance of the prototype is presented and compared to that of a Geant4 simulation of the apparatus. Particular emphasis is given to the response uniformity across the channel front face, and to the prototype's energy resolution.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Response of microchannel plates to single particles and to electromagnetic showers

We report on the response of microchannel plates (MCPs) to single relativistic particles and to electromagnetic showers. Particle detection by means of secondary emission of electrons at the MCP surface has long been proposed and is used extensively in ion time-of-flight mass spectrometers. What has not been investigated in depth is their use to detect the ionizing component of showers. The time resolution of MCPs exceeds anything that has been previously used in calorimeters and, if exploited effectively, could aid in the event reconstruction at high luminosity colliders. Several prototypes of photodetectors with the amplification stage based on MCPs were exposed to cosmic rays and to 491 MeV electrons at the INFN-LNF Beam-Test Facility. The time resolution and the efficiency of the MCPs are measured as a function of the particle multiplicity, and the results used to model the response to high-energy showers.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 3. Higgs Properties

This Report summarizes the results of the activities in 2012 and the first half of 2013 of the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group. The main goal of the working group was to present the state of the art of Higgs Physics at the LHC, integrating all new results that have appeared in the last few years. This report follows the first working group report Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 1. Inclusive Observables (CERN-2011-002) and the second working group report Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 2. Differential Distributions (CERN-2012-002). After the discovery of a Higgs boson at the LHC in mid-2012 this report focuses on refined prediction of Standard Model (SM) Higgs phenomenology around the experimentally observed value of 125-126 GeV, refined predictions for heavy SM-like Higgs bosons as well as predictions in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and first steps to go beyond these models. The other main focus is on the extraction of the characteristics and properties of the newly discovered particle such as couplings to SM particles, spin and CP-quantum numbers etc.

hep-ph↗