Use of micro-PIXE analysis for the identification of contaminants in the metal deposition on a CMS pitch adapter

In the silicon tracker for the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the forthcoming Large Hadron Collider of CERN, each silicon sensor is connected to the front-end electronics by a pitch adapter, the structure of which consists of a fan of very thin chromium strips coated with a few microns aluminium deposition, on a glass support. The absence of contaminants in the depositions is of crucial importance for the electrical and mechanical reliability of the micro-bonding connections. The PIXE set-up of the Florence external micro-beam facility appeared to be suitable to analyse the metal deposition of an adapter, on which the micro-bonds had shown mechanical and electrical problems. Our measurements pointed out a significant copper contamination of the metal deposition on the faulty adapter, while no copper was detected in another one, which showed a correct behaviour at bonding. This suggests a possible role of Cu impurities in the encountered problems during micro-bonding.