Speaker
Description
ALICE 3 is an innovative experiment that will be installed at the LHC during Long Shutdown 4, replacing the current ALICE detector, and will operate in Run 5 (2036-2041).
The system will be equipped with a Time-Of-Flight (TOF) system for the identification of charged particles, based on silicon pixel sensors , with a required time resolution of 20 ps and radiation tolerance of approximately $10^{13}\ \mathrm{MeV\;n_{eq}/cm^2}$.
Previous studies conducted within our $\text{R&D}$ program on hybrid Low Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD) prototypes have demonstrated that the time resolution required by the ALICE 3 TOF detector can be achieved by reducing the sensor thickness down to about 20 $\mu m$. However, monolithic sensors would be better suited for the ALICE 3 TOF detector due to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness with respect to hybrid LGADs.
In this context lies the recent development of LGAD prototypes in CMOS technology, featuring an internal gain layer beneath the collection electrode. The first CMOS LGAD prototypes with a 48 $\mu$m active volume and moderate gain were developed through a collaboration between ALICE and the INFN ARCADIA introducing a gain layer in CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors produced by LFoundry in the 110 nm technology.
In this poster, the time resolution of CMOS LGAD sensors as measured with recent test beam campaigns both at CERN-(S)PS and DESY will be presented along with their detection efficiency, also as a function of the particle hit position. The effect of temperature variation from $\SI{-10}{\degreeCelsius}$ to room temperature on time resolution and amplitude will also be shown. Finally, this work will outline future $\text{R&D}$ plans: the next production run will provide thinner sensors that will be tested in upcoming test beam campaigns.