Speaker: Gabriele Giacomini, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)
Abstract
Silicon sensors benefit from the mature processing technologies developed by industry since the 1960s and are available in a variety of forms, each tailored to its intended detection application. Because silicon is sensitive to charged particles and photons over a broad energy range, silicon sensors are used in many industrial, scientific, and medical applications. However, exposure to particle fluxes can damage silicon sensors. Accurate studies are therefore needed to assess sensor performance during irradiation and, ultimately, to determine sensor lifetime. This talk will introduce silicon technology and several common types of silicon sensors, with emphasis on device physics and applications. The mechanisms of radiation damage will also be outlined, along with approaches to improve sensor radiation hardness.
Bio
Gabriele Giacomini received his M.Sc. (Physics) and Ph.D. (Physics) from the University of Trieste, Italy, in the field of silicon radiation detectors for high energy physics experiments, in 2004 and 2008, respectively. After 6 years as a junior researcher at Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK, Trento, Italy), which runs a large facility for the fabrication of silicon sensors, he joined BNL as Principal Investigator for the silicon sensor group in 2015. He has vast experience in silicon sensors development, starting from the design, definition of the technological process, fabrication in a clean room and electrical testing. He developed many kinds of silicon sensors, including silicon pixel, microstrip, pad, and drift sensors, phototransistors and silicon photon-multipliers. He worked with both public research institutions and with private companies, in a wide range of fields, spanning from high-energy physics to photon science.
Faculty Host: Savannah Eisner