CHARACTERISATION OF SI DETECTORS FOR THE USE AT 2 K

It is expected that the luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be bounded in the future by the beam loss limits of the superconducting magnets. To protect the superconducting magnets of the high luminosity insertions an optimal detection of the energy deposition by the shower of beam particles is necessary. Therefore beam Loss Monitors (BLM) need to be placed close to the particle impact location in the cold mass of the magnets where they should operate in superfluid helium at 1.9 Kelvin. To choose optimal detectors n-type silicon wafers have been examined at superfluid helium temperature whilst under irradiation from a high intensity proton beam. The radiation hardness and leakage current of these detectors were found to be significantly improved at 1.9 Kelvin when compared to their operation at room temperature.