Development of scientific instrumentation for the ALICE experiment at the LHC-CERN

• Grant number: 15/26912-1
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Electrical, Magnetic and Electronic Measurements, Instrumentation
• Principal Investigator: Wilhelmus Adrianus Maria van Noije
• Grantee: Hugo Daniel Hernandez Herrera
• Home Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/12664-3 - Development of scientific instrumentation for the ALICE experiment at the LHC-CERN, AP.ESP

Abstract

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is one of the four major experiments at the particle accelerator LHC (Large Hadron Collider) installed in the European laboratory CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). The management committee of the LHC accelerator has just approved a program of updates for this experiment. Among the upgrades planned for the coming years of the ALICE experiment is to improve the resolution and tracking efficiency maintaining the excellent particle identification ability and allowing the study of rare probes that can increase significantly our understanding of nuclear matter. In order to achieve such goal, it is necessary to update the read-out electronics from several systems in the ALICE experiment, like the Time Projection Chamber detector (TPC) and the Muon Tracking Chambers (MCH). The TPC detector is the main device of the central barrel of the ALICE experiment for tracking and identification of charged particles, while the MCH allows the measurement of muons in the forward direction. The main required modification is the creation of a new ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that will be installed in the front-end electronics of these detectors with the aim of amplifying, converting and filtering the signal generated by these devices. The TPC also requires migrating its sensors from MWPC (Multi Wire Proportional Chamber) to GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) in order to achieve the read-out rate aimed. In this project, we propose the realization, under the entire responsibility of the Brazilian groups, of the design, simulation, prototyping, experimental testing, validation and manufacturing of this new ASIC that will work in the new conditions imposed by the LHC, with lower power consumption compared with the previous version of the chip, and that can cope with the radiation induced by LHC in the ALICE environment. Additionally, we also propose to conduct research and development for the usage of GEM sensors in the TPC of the ALICE experiment, and to develop the usage of these sensors in other applications with researchers from IPEN (Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares) and other groups from the Nuclear Physics Department at USP. (AU)