Mr. Michael Minder reports
THE ALICE EXPERIMENT AT CERN ORDERS ZECOTEK'S SOLID-STATE MAPD PHOTO DETECTORS
The ALICE experiment at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Switzerland, has ordered Zecotek Photonics Inc.'s patented third-generation micropixel avalanche photo diodes (MAPD-3N). The order follows the results of a test bench study on the characteristics of the MAPD conducted by the University of Bergen in Norway, and the previously announced MAPD orders from the four other CERN experiments: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment and multiple MAPD orders from the NA61 Experiment.
"We have vigorously tested Zecotek's solid-state MAPD-3N photo detectors and the device proved to offers a number of attractive properties for use in calorimeters with respect to: low bias voltage, quantum efficiency, radiation hardness and timing resolution," said
Dr. Petr Nomokonov, representative of the ALICE Experiment. "We have been searching for a replacement for the APD which is an older photon counting technology. Zecotek's MAPD is a great solution due to its compactness, radiation hardness and other scientific and technical advantages."
"The ALICE Experiment is the fifth project at CERN using our solid-state MAPD photo detectors and our relationship with the various scientific teams at CERN continues to deepen," said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek. "Our third generation solid-state MAPD photo detectors have become the favoured detection device replacing older photon detection technologies. CERN is one of the world's most important centres for scientific research and requires large volumes of compact photo detectors which are insensitive to radiation and magnetic fields. Our MAPD continues to outperform competing technologies and we expect additional orders in the future."
ALICE is the acronym for "A Large Ion Collide Experiment", one of the largest experiments in the world devoted to research in the physics of matter at an infinitely small scale. Hosted at CERN, this project involves an international collaboration of more than 1000 physicists, engineers and technicians, including around 200 graduate students, from 105 physics institutes in 30 countries across the world. The ALICE Experiment is in search of answers to fundamental scientific questions, using the extraordinary tools provided by the Large Hadron Collider. For more information please visit: https://aliceinfo.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html.
About CERN
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world's largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter -- the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature. CERN is the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). LHC experiments will address questions such as what gives matter its mass, what the invisible 96% of the Universe is made of, why nature prefers matter to antimatter and how matter evolved from the first instants of the Universe's existence. The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions. Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe's first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States. For more information about CMS please visit https://cms.web.cern.ch/cms/Detector/WhatCMS/index.html.