The research project addresses the development of a prototype detection array for the high resolution determination of charged particle momentum, dedicated to particle correlation measurements. The array addresses topics in nuclear reaction dynamics and structure at low and intermediate energies with stable and exotic beams.
The final goal of this project is the design and construction of a prototype detection array for particle correlation measurement, made of segmented silicon detectors and CsI(Tl) scintillator crystals and characterized by high angular and energy resolution, good capabilities in isotopic identification (even for less penetrating charged particles thanks to pulse-shape analysis), and a closely-packed and reconfigurable geometry. The envisioned use for this array is aimed at exploiting research opportunities in heavy-ion collisions and direct reactions with stable and radioactive beams, addressing topics in nuclear reaction dynamics as well in nuclear structure, at low and intermediate energies with stable and radioactive beams already or presently available in the new facilities. Only few detection systems (HiRA and MUST, MUST2) with the required segmentation level to date, however they do not feature pulse shape analysis capability, thus preventing the isotopic identification of fragments stopped in the silicon layer.
The proposed application of pulse shape analysis to segmented detectors is very ambitious and imposes the deep study and simulation of the signal formation at high charge injection levels combined with a detailed characterization of the 2D detector response. The development of dedicated front-end electronics featuring extremely high-dynamic range, very low noise and limited power dissipation is a step forward. The full exploitation of the proposed detector array requires the development of a dedicated digital acquisition system for waveform digitalization and on-line analysis. The obvious impact is in exploiting research opportunities in heavy-ion collisions and direct reactions with stable and radioactive beams, addressing topics in nuclear reaction dynamics as well in nuclear structure, at low and intermediate energies. Some of the project deliverables will be of interest in other fields (e.g. developed simulation tools for carrier transport in the detector volume and for induced signals computation for LCP and IMF interaction could be adapted to the study of high-charge effects in 2D area detectors being developed for the EU-XFEL facility). The design of optimized front-end amplifier architectures operating in current-mode will be a step forward in high-linearity, high-dynamics mixed-signal ASICs.
The project is being developed in collaboration with INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and includes the participation of the following groups, besides Milano: Sezione di Catania (principal investigator), Laboratori Nazionali del Sud and Gruppo Collegato di Messina. In addition reserach groups from France and Spain are collaborating.