Reliability Testing of Modules in the ATLAS Inner Tracker Strips

Abstract

With the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN undergoing a major upgrade, including enhancements to the luminosity capabilities, it is essential to upgrade the main detector's components, especially ATLAS's inner detector, to ensure optimal performance. This thesis investigates the reliability testing of Inner Tracker (ITk) modules for the ATLAS experiment. It contributes to the development of the reliability testing procedures, and to studies these modules' long-term operation.

The reliability of ITk modules is assessed by measuring the performance of the modules during multi-step electrical tests. This work concentrates on monitoring the environmental parameters and electrical measurements from the test setup, power supplies, and modules themselves. In addition, this work attempts to establish an informative framework for conducting reliability tests on modules, offering guidelines for future applications.

Popular Abstract

Tiny things go zoom! Big machines go click! That, in a nutshell, is what happens at CERN. It was only roughly 10 years ago when scientists at CERN used the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to smash particles together at near-light speed, finally confirming the existence of a theorized particle that gives mass to, well, everything! Since that time, many more studies have been made, and the scientific community is still hoping to get more from this colossal machine.

However, as technology advances and the number of questions and expectations increases, it is essential to improve our instruments accordingly. Soon, LHC is undergoing a major upgrade to greatly boost the number of particles they can collide. The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) delivers a volume of data at previously unheard-of rates. With the help of this improvement, particle physicists should be able to verify theoretical predictions more accurately, and possibly even discover new physics outside our current understanding of the universe.

The ATLAS experiment at LHC detects particle collisions. Its upgrade is a necessity since the higher number of particle collisions means higher radiation, which the current instrument cannot handle and survive. This behemoth of a machine is the biggest particle detector at a collider and acts as a high-tech camera to capture the smallest structures of matter. Consequently, the upgrade is also a massive project. With this upgrade, the closest instrument of ATLAS to the collision point gets new silicon detector, which aside from radiation resistivity, can observe more accurately and handle more data.

This new system, the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk), is expected to be installed at ATLAS in 2027, and at this time, has undergone design and development and is entering the mass production stage. Considering that when the modules are installed, there is no turning back, it is important to understand how they might age and behave over time. Long-term reliability testing is a series of measurements that mimic real-world conditions and simulate years of operation in a controlled lab environment. This thesis focuses on the development of these tests. By monitoring the detectors' performance over extended periods, we learn about how their behavior evolves over time. This information will help us to develop and design better detectors in the future.

• author: Shaker, Adib
• supervisor: Hannah Herde; Erik Wallin
• organization: Department of Physics; Particle and nuclear physics
• course: FYSK04 20241
• year: 2024
• type: M2 - Bachelor Degree
• subject: Physics and Astronomy
• keywords: ATLAS, ITk, Physics, Particle Physics, High Energy Physics, CERN, LHC, HL-LHC, Reliability testing, LTRT, Coldbox, InfluxDB
• language: English
• id: 9166411
• date added to LUP: 2024-06-20 14:52:56
• date last changed: 2024-06-20 14:52:56