The innovation engine for new materials

William Ortez

Major: 

Physics

University: 

University of California, Santa Barbara

Mentor(s): 

Johan Eckdahl

Faculty Sponsor(s): 

Joseph Incandela

Faculty Sponsor's Department(s): 

Physics

Project Title: 

The Assembly and Thermal Effects of High Granularity Calorimeter Modules

Project Description: 

The High Granularity Calorimeter is an essential component of the high-granularity upgrade for the LHC. The use of silicon material in the detectors is able to withstand higher amounts of radiation and measures more precisely the positions and energies of particles for experiments.   However, creating an automated and reliable building process for the HGC modules is crucial. The detectors take on the shape of a 6 inch hexagonal arrangement. The sensors contain about 100 to 1000 sensing pads which are separate channels with dedicated readout channels. Each pad is made up from a metal layer above a reverse-biased diode. The assembly process is done using a robotic gantry using LabVIEW. There are several methods for the assembly process which include the following stages: receiving, mating, wire bonding and encapsulation and thermal cycling. We use the thermal cycling stand to test the wire bonds and mechanical structure of the modules for any defects. The goal is to control the thermal cycling process of the modules using an environmental chamber after the assembly process. This would check for strains and stresses that could damage wire bonds and place stresses on the silicon. We hope to understand the mechanical strain of the modules and how heat is dissipated through the silicon sensors.