Course info

Lecturers:  Kenneth Wraight, Dima Maneuski, Andrew Blue

Lab heads: Stephan Eisenhardt (Edinburgh) and Richard Bates (Glasgow)

Institutions: Glasgow & Edinburgh

Hours Equivalent Credit: 16 (11 lectures, 1x2hr lab & 1x3hr Lab)

Assessment: Assignment sheets

Course Summary

 

In the first series of lectures the students learn about classical detector technologies and concepts that form the basis of the modern developments.

The principles of the interaction of radiation with matter are discussed. From principles to state-of-the-art applications, the following technologies are reviewed: gaseous tracking detectors, photon detectors and calorimeters. The methods utilised for particle identification as well as concepts to trigger on rare events are presented. Finally, the students are introduced to how all these building blocks are combined into modern layouts of particle physics detectors. 

The second series of lectures focuses entirely on the physics and applications of Solid State Detectors. Their ever-increasing use in particle physics detectors is motivated; their application in the past, in the present and in the near future is reviewed. The fundamental configurations and properties of semiconductors are introduced and the process of signal formation in semiconductor detectors is discussed. The properties of the microstrip detector are examined in detail as an example of a detector type commonly used today. Radiation damage is the most limiting effect to semiconductor detectors; its effects and cures are presented. 

In the concluding lecture is on the fabrication of semiconductors. The main production techniques and their limitations are presented including lithography, additive and subtractive processes, etching, SiO2 layers and doping. Finally, the semiconductor processing facilities at the Glasgow Electrical Engineering Department are outlined. 

A two-hour session taking place in a laboratory at Edinburgh will demonstrate a state-of-the-art application of novel photon detectors on the test bench. One focus will be on the integration of control, data acquisition and logging into an integrated test system using Labview. In addition the basics of signal transmission, interfacing kit of hardware and safety when working with high voltages and radioactive sources will be covered. 

The second laboratory session held in Glasgow will last 3 hours. The session will initially explore the electrical behaviour of silicon detectors. After this the response of the detector to an IR light pulse as a function of detector bias voltage will be examined. Two different detector designs will be used to allow the student to measure the different characteristics of these devices. The laboratory will give the student the opportunity to measure the type of silicon detectors that are discussed in detail in the second part of the lecture course.