CERN-RD39 collaboration activities aimed at cryogenic silicon detector application in high-luminosity Large Hadron Collider

Beam Loss Monitors (BLM) made of silicon are new devices for monitoring of radiation environment in the vicinity of superconductive magnets of the Large Hadron Collider. The challenge of BLMs is extreme radiation hardness, up to 10 16 protons/cm 2 while placed in superfluid helium (temperature of 1.9 K). CERN BE-BI-BL group, together with CERN-RD39 collaboration, has developed prototypes of BLMs and investigated their device physics. An overview of this development—results of the in situ radiation tests of planar silicon detectors at 1.9 K, performed in 2012 and 2014—is presented. Our main finding is that silicon detectors survive under irradiation to 1×10 16 p/cm 2 at 1.9 K. In order to improve charge collection, current injection into the detector sensitive region (Current Injection Detector (CID)) was tested. The results indicate that the detector signal increases while operated in CID mode.