Wednesday 24 August 2016 

Speaker: Chris Damerell (RAL/PPD)


Title: "Vertex detectors - a historical overview”

Abstract: This talk will provide an overview of the development of vertex detectors, focusing on the technology pioneered by the RAL group, namely silicon pixel devices, which by now have become the technology of choice for these detectors in most HEP experiments.  We follow the developments beginning with the discovery of the charmed quark in 1974. Since the invention of the CCD in 1970, for which Boyle and Smith were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2009, silicon pixel devices have provided a marvellous tool, not only for photography, but also for a wide range of science - astronomy, super-resolution microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and so on.  Technical developments have been of high inter-disciplinary value, and we close with a challenging example at the 4th generation X-ray source LCLS-II at SLAC, the laboratory where the story began, with the discovery of the charmed quark 42 years ago. P.S. Don't worry if you have no idea what a vertex detector is - this will be explained.