Irradiation studies at the Bern cyclotron for the ATLAS ITk upgrade

At the high-luminosity LHC, the radiation levels for participating experiments will increase by over one order of magnitude in total ionising dose compared to current levels. Therefore, components and materials installed closest to the interaction points, such as the new ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk), have to be tested for their durability in high-radiation environments. The variety and multitude of materials and components require a large number of irradiation campaigns. For this purpose, the irradiation facility at the Bern medical cyclotron, an 18MeV proton accelerator, can be utilised. The laboratory setup allows for studies of radiation hardness of different samples, such as cables, connectors, electronics, and shielding materials. Two campaigns were completed with the conclusion that the materials do not change towards worse performance, while the third campaign presented here is still ongoing.