🔬 physics.ins-det⚛️ hep-ex

Irradiation Studies of TGC Electronics Components for the ATLAS Experiment at High-Luminosity LHC

This paper demonstrates that various commercial off-the-shelf electronics components tested for radiation tolerance meet the specific Total Ionizing Dose and Non-Ionizing Energy Loss requirements for the Thin Gap Chamber frontend electronics in the ATLAS experiment's High-Luminosity LHC upgrade.

Yuya Ohsumi, Daisuke Hashimoto, Yasuyuki Horii, Takumi Aoki, Haruka Asada, Kazumasa Hashizume, Hayato Inaguma, Masaya Ishino, Miyuki Kikuchi, Shota Kondo, Reita Maeno, Airu Makita, Masaki Minakawa, Yuki Mitsumori, Yuki Nabeyama, Ren Nagasaka, Takumi Nakajima, Yoshifumi Narukawa, Atsuhiko Ochi, Yasuyuki Okumura, Osamu Sasaki, Aoto Tanaka, Akira Taniike, Makoto Tomoto, Arisa Wada, Erika Yamashita

Published 2026-03-05
📖 4 min read☕ Coffee break read
View on arXiv ↗PDF ↗

Imagine the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as the world's most powerful particle accelerator, a giant cosmic racetrack where scientists smash particles together to discover the secrets of the universe. The ATLAS experiment is one of the massive detectors sitting on this track, acting like a high-speed camera taking billions of photos of these collisions.

In the future (around 2030), this racetrack is getting a massive upgrade called the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). Think of this as turning the racetrack from a quiet country road into a chaotic, super-busy highway during rush hour. There will be so many cars (particles) passing by that the environment becomes incredibly "dirty" with radiation—like a storm of invisible, high-energy bullets.

The Problem: Electronics in a Nuclear Storm

The ATLAS detector has a specific part called the Thin Gap Chamber (TGC), which acts like a security guard checking the muons (a type of particle) flying out of the collisions. The electronics that read this data are installed very close to the action, right in the middle of this radiation storm.

The problem? Most electronics you buy at a store (like in your phone or laptop) are like delicate glass figurines. If you put them in this radiation storm, they would shatter instantly. The scientists needed to find "tough" electronics that could survive this environment without breaking.

The Solution: The "Stress Test"

This paper is essentially a report card on a stress test for commercial electronics. The researchers asked: "Can these everyday, store-bought parts survive the radiation levels we expect at the HL-LHC?"

They tested a variety of components, which is like checking if different types of gear can survive a hike through a radioactive jungle:

  • Optical Transceivers: The "eyes" that send data via light.
  • Clocks: The "heartbeat" that keeps everything synchronized.
  • Memory Cards (SD/Flash): The "notebooks" that store data.
  • Power Regulators: The "fuel pumps" that keep the voltage steady.
  • Fibers: The "cables" that carry the information.

The Two Types of Radiation Attacks

The scientists subjected these parts to two different types of "attacks" to see how they held up:

  1. The "Sunburn" Test (Total Ionizing Dose - TID):

    • The Metaphor: Imagine leaving a solar panel in the sun for years. It doesn't break immediately, but the sun slowly damages the material, causing it to degrade and eventually stop working.
    • The Test: They blasted the electronics with gamma rays (like a super-intense sun) to see how much "sunburn" they could take before failing.
    • The Result: They found that while some parts started to glitch at lower doses, the specific models they chose could survive doses far higher than what the HL-LHC will throw at them. It's like finding a sunblock that protects you even if you stay out for 100 years.

  2. The "Pothole" Test (Non-Ionizing Energy Loss - NIEL):

    • The Metaphor: Imagine driving a car on a road full of potholes. The car doesn't get "sunburned," but the constant bumps eventually crack the suspension or break the engine.
    • The Test: They bombarded the parts with neutrons (tiny particles) to simulate the physical "bumps" that knock atoms out of place inside the chip.
    • The Result: The parts were left unpowered during this test (to simulate the physical damage). Amazingly, none of the tested components broke, even when hit with a massive amount of neutron "potholes."

The Verdict: "Mission Accomplished"

The paper concludes with great news: All the tested commercial parts passed the test.

They didn't just survive; they survived with a huge safety margin. The researchers even added "safety factors" (like wearing a helmet and knee pads just in case) to their calculations, and the parts still passed.

What does this mean for the future?
Because these "off-the-shelf" parts are tough enough, the ATLAS team can now build their new, upgraded electronics for the HL-LHC without needing to invent expensive, custom-made radiation-proof chips. They can use reliable, commercially available technology, knowing it will keep working for the next decade of high-energy physics experiments.

In short: The scientists took everyday electronics, threw them into a simulated nuclear apocalypse, and found that the right models are tough enough to keep the ATLAS experiment running smoothly in the future.

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