UK-ATLAS Irradiation Facility
Sheffield Activities
Introduction
The Sheffield group has been heavily involved in the design and commissioning of the ATLAS-UK Irradiation Facility through the following projects. The cold box and scanning system were developed, manufactured and tested in Sheffield before installation at the ATLAS-UK Irradiation Facility and the Sheffield group has also contributed to the operation of the facility and establishing a stable run procedure.
Cold Box Development
The initial cooling was provided by a recirculating glycol system developed in Sheffield, based on the cold box used for irradiations at the CERN PS facility. The cooling system was installed at the ATLAS-UK Irradiation Facility in 2013 and used for initial irradiations. Due to overheating of sensors during irradiation, the cooling system was redesigned to use evaporative cooling. A prototype cold box, along with a LN2 dispensing unit has been tested in Sheffield and installed at the cyclotron to maintain sub-zero temperatures within the cold box during irradiations. Evaporative cooling to between -30 to -50 degrees has been implemented since 2014. Further studies to optimise the box layout are ongoing.
Scanning System
The pre-configured xy-axis cartesian robot system was developed in Sheffield and installed at the ATLAS-UK Irradiation Facility along with the glycol chiller system in 2013. A LabVIEW GUI has been developed to communicate with the scanning system with two modes of operation: scanning mode and point-to-point. Upgrades to the stager and software are in progress.
Development System
To test and implement upgrades to the scanning system and software, a second scanning system and LN2 cooling unit is undergoing installation in Sheffield Robotics. This system will be used for remote troubleshooting of the system in Birmingham, testing of the software to improve user instructions as well as upgrades to the prototype cooling system and box.
Sensor Characterisation
Testing and measurements of silicon sensors can be performed in the Sheffield Semiconductor Development Facility, including charge collection measurements using the ALiBaVa system.
