Design of radiation-hard CMOS sensors for particle detection applications

The work focuses on the design of large-scale radiation-hard monolithic CMOS sensors for the upgrades of the detectors in the high-energy physics experiments at CERN. The sensors are manufactured using a novel process modification implemented in the TowerJazz 180 nm CMOS process, which uses small collection electrodes to achieve a low sensor capacitance in the order of a few femtofarads, resulting in low noise and low analogue power consumption. The process modification provides full depletion of the sensitive layer and a radiation hardness promising to meet the requirements of the pixel detectors in CERN’s largest experiments. The sensors implement a matrix of small pixels (in the order of 30 micrometres) containing a fast, low-noise front-end amplifier and a novel asynchronous digital readout architecture. Measurement results from these sensors before and after irradiation are also discussed.