Final characterization of the ATLAS IBL detector modules with 241Am during the construction phase

During the first LHC long shutdown (2013/14) a new innermost pixel layer will be installed to the present ATLAS pixel system. The Insertable B-Layer (IBL) is a high-reliability, ultra light and radiation hard Pixel detector (3D n-in-p and planar n-in-n sensors) which will restore the full b tagging efficiency, will preserve tracking performance in face of increasing luminosity effects and will add tracking precision to the existing detector. The production of the modules has already started, as their special mechanical supports (staves), which will be arranged cylindrically around the beam pipe. A systematic Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) concerning modules, staves and flex from the production to the final assembly on the beam pipe have been already started. The QA is performed in several institutes and in well-defined steps. In particular the final validation before the installation in the ATLAS experiment will be done at CERN. A dedicated set-up has been arranged in order to perform a full chain QA/QC test on the 24 production staves (14 staves to be installed and 10 spares). A CO2 cooling system (TRACI) is used to cool down the pixel detectors up to -35 °C and an electronic chain similar to the final one has been developed. Furthermore a linear motion system carrying two 241Am sources with an activity of 41 MBq each is mounted over the stave in order to perform a final characterization of the sensor performance.