CERN
The ALICE – A Large Ion Collider Experiment – experiment at the CERN LHC / © CERN.CSEM and CERN are joining forces to pursue and strengthen scientific and technical cooperation between the two organisations in the field of high energy physics with a view to improving the performance of CERN’s new particle accelerator – the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Combining CERN’s scientific know-how with CSEM’s technological expertise, the aim of the cooperation is to develop silicon micro structures for cooling the surfaces of particle tracking detectors. Standard cooling systems in particle physics generally suffer complications linked to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the various components – a difference that can result in irreversible damage such as cracks or breaks. Temperature control is therefore a major challenge in efforts to prevent aging or premature deterioration of the detectors and their electronic components.
CERN, known worldwide for its fundamental research in the field of particle physics, has already developed a microchannel cooling technology that permits better temperature control on particle detectors. CSEM, meanwhile, has undisputed expertise in the area of microsystems technology, covering the various aspects of micro fabrication, assembly and encapsulation. The alliance between the two organisations therefore holds a lot of promise for the future.
Silicon on silicon for better detector performance.
The proposed solution consists of an ultra-thin silicon plate made up of a myriad of microchannels through which a fluid is pumped under pressure. This plate is placed in direct contact with the silicon surface of the components to be cooled, namely the detectors and associated electronic chips. These reliable, ultra-thin and high-performance silicon devices meet the requirements of detector technology perfectly in terms of volume and weight. As a result, the devices can be positioned as close as possible to the LHC beam while minimising the disruption to the particles produced by collisions.
In addition to this development, the technological innovations created through the cooperation will help perfect new cooling devices that are smaller, more compact, more precise and adapted to the three-dimensional electronic systems (3D encapsulation) of the future.
