Speaker
Description
LGADs have an internal gain mechanism that allows for a timing resolution on the scale of tens of picoseconds within a 50 micron active thickness. However, they have been optimized for use with minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) at institutions like the LHC. In this talk, I will discuss recent studies performed with the University of Washington's tandem accelerator on LGAD responses in the presence of highly ionizing particles. The studies consist of LGAD measurements of proton beams ranging in energy from 1.8 MeV to 14 MeV, with the lower energy protons stopping in the 50 micron sensors and higher energy protons punching through. Additionally, by rotating the LGADs about their central axis, a scan over the incident angle was performed. This data was then used to develop a model that directly relates the degree of gain saturation to the lateral projection of the particles track in the sensor onto the plane of the gain layer. The model will be critical for the PIONEER experiment, with whom this work was performed in association with, where the LGADs will be used to build an active target that must be capable of performing precise time, position, and energy measurements of pions as they come to a stop in the target as well as all decay products.