Ultra-Lightweight Carbon-Carbon Cooling Structure For Pixel and Silicon Strip Detectors

180 Ultra-Lightweight Carbon-Carbon Cooling Structure For Pixel and Silicon Strip Detectors-HYTEC, Inc., 110 Eastgate Dr., Suite 100, Los Alamos, NM 87544-3304; (505) 662-0080 Mr. William O. Miller, Principal Investigator Mr. William O. Miller, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82397 Amount: $75,000 Removal of heat from the next generation of particle detection systems used in high energy physics experiment, under development by the Department of Energy, will present challenging thermal management and structural design issues. The most significant system design issue existent in the detectors which observe particle collisions, is that the detectors, their associated on-board electronics, support structure and cooling components place an undesirable amount of material in the path of the charge particles whose trajectories they are designed to measure. This project is to develop innovative, low-mass, stable composite structures with exceptionally good thermal conductivity which can be machined into complex shapes. An ultra lightweight integrated structure and cooling concept will be developed using advanced composite materials that are highly thermally conductive and have low physical interactions with the charged particles. The concept is ideally suited to addressing the needs of high energy physics detectors to be built at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The goal of Phase I is to evaluate an innovative leak-tight, carbon-carbon structure concept that would serve to cool and support thin, delicate pixel and silicon strip detectors. The structure will be highly stable, possess an exceptionally high thermal conductivity, as well as be adaptable to complex shapes to satisfy the detector applications. An important aspect will be to demonstrate electrical compatibility with detector performance. Phase II will be concerned with advancing the integration of cooling and support structure system for an entire pixel detector. Major elements of a pixel detector will be constructed, and comprehensive thermal and stability tests would be conducted. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Advancements in ultra-lightweight composite cooling structures will find application in space programs in which DOE has a key interest, like the Gamma-Ray Large Aperture Space Telescope (GLAST). Commercial applications may be found in the computer applications requiring heat removal in confined spaces.