Commissioning of the beam conditions monitor of the LHCb experiment at CERN

Abstract

The LOCb experiment at CERN features a beam conditions monitor (HCM) consisting of 16 diamond detectors of an active surface of 8mm x 8mm each, surrounding the beam pipe, in order to prevent the experiment from exposure to a possibly harmful LHC beam. It is based on a measurement of the current through these solid state detectors with an integration time of 40 ps, so it provides the fastest input of LOCb to the beam interlock system. The current status of the commissioning is desc ribed in this work.

Progress in Diamond Detectors

“…Diamond detectors have firmly established themselves in particle physics experiments. For more than two decades they have been utilized as luminosity monitors, beam condition monitors, and beam protection devices for a number of high energy experiments [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Diamond detector technology: status and perspectives

“…This requirement is driving all LHC experiments to undertake intense research programs in radiation tolerant sensor technologies and geometries. Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond has been used extensively and successfully in beam conditions/beam loss monitors as the innermost detectors in the highest radiation areas of essentially all LHC experiments [2], [3], [4]. As a result, CVD diamond is considered a candidate technology for beam conditions/beam loss monitors and possibly tracking layers very close to the interaction region of the LHC upgrades where the most extreme radiation conditions will exist.…”

Diamond Detector Technology: Status and Perspectives

“…Due to the high radiation in that regime presently all of the four main experiments at the LHC are using detectors with diamond sensors. ATLAS [9], ALICE [10], CMS [11] and LHCb [12] all make use of various Beam Condition Monitors (BCMs) and/or Beam Loss Monitors (BLMs) based on both CVD type diamonds for live background estimations and luminosity measurements. Due to expected high particle flux and expected radiation dose for the HL-LHC it is very important to understand the behaviour of future detectors in this environment.…”