GaAs solid state detectors for physics at the LHC

The authors report on progress with Schottky diode and p-i-n diode GaAs detectors for minimum ionizing particles. The radiation hardness and potential speed of simple diodes are shown to be more than competitive with silicon detectors. A discussion is given of the present understanding of the charge transport mechanism in the detectors as it influences their charge collection efficiency. Early results from microstrip detectors which are relevant for high radiation regions of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) detectors near the beam pipe and in the forward region are also described. The authors have established the ability of GaAs Schottky diode detectors to tolerate radiation loads at the level expected in more than one year of running at a radial distance of only a few cm from the intersection point of the proposed LHC collider at nominal luminosity. The diode output signal of only a few nanoseconds is very satisfactory for the new colliders.<
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