Silicon Detector Technologies for High Energy Physics

Silicon-based detectors form the backbone of tracking and timing systems in modern high-energy physics experiments. Their high spatial granularity, fast charge collection and compatibility with microelectronics have driven advances in collider experiments and fixed-target facilities. Innovations span planar sensors, three-dimensional structures and devices with internal gain. Thin substrates and novel electrode geometries have improved timing resolution, enabling four-dimensional tracking that discriminates events separated by tens of picoseconds. Radiation-hard designs address the severe particle fluxes in high-luminosity colliders, preserving charge collection and signal integrity after large irradiation doses. Developments in fabrication process control, dopant profiling and defect engineering refine electric field uniformity and multiplication regions. Integration with read-out electronics through bump-bonding or monolithic approaches streamlines module assembly and reduces material budget. Together, these technologies underpin the next generation of sub-micrometre spatial resolution, precise time stamping and robust performance required for experiments at facilities such as the High-Luminosity LHC and future colliders.

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Silicon Detector Technologies for High Energy Physics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in silicon detector technologies for high energy physics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Low Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD): A silicon sensor with a shallow multiplication layer that provides moderate internal signal amplification to enhance timing performance.

Minimum Ionizing Particle (MIP): A charged particle that loses the least energy per unit path length when traversing matter, serving as a standard for detector calibration.

Timing Resolution: The smallest temporal separation at which a detector can distinguish two consecutive particle hits, typically measured in picoseconds.

Acceptor Removal: The process by which radiation-induced defects deactivate p-type dopants in silicon, reducing effective sensor bias fields.

Three-Dimensional Trench Sensor: A pixel architecture with deep vertical electrodes etched into silicon, shortening drift distances and improving radiation tolerance.

References

1. LGAD-Based Silicon Sensors for 4D Detectors. Sensors (2023).
2. Microscopic origin of the acceptor removal in neutron-irradiated Si detectors - An atomistic simulation study. Acta Materialia (2022).
3. Intrinsic time resolution of 3D-trench silicon pixels for charged particle detection. Journal of Instrumentation (2020).