Celestica, CERN, and University of Toronto Collaborate on Enabling Advanced Research for LHC

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Celestica Inc., in collaboration with international researchers from the ATLAS experiment at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research and the University of Toronto, have produced a radiation-hard sensor for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider.

CERN scientists use the Large Hadron Collider to conduct particle physics experiments in search of new discoveries in head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy, with the ultimate goal of uncovering new insights into the structure of the universe. To enable the detection of the subatomic particles with a high level of precision, Celestica, in collaboration with physicists from ATLAS at CERN and the University of Toronto, has produced a high performance radiation-hard sensor.

A prototype of the radiation-hard sensor, assembled at Celestica’s Microelectronics Lab and tested at the University of Toronto’s High Energy Physics detector lab, is a highly complex device that consists of 20 large electronic computer chips attached on a printed circuit board by 2,500 wires smaller than a human hair. The technology used in the sensor can also have a range of applications including medical imaging and electronics in satellites.

“At Celestica, we are proud to collaborate with CERN scientists and the University of Toronto on this project,” said Shawn Blakney, Senior Director, Technology and Innovation, Celestica. “This endeavour highlights the future of the highly complex electronics manufacturing industry and what can be achieved when organizations from around the globe work together to drive innovation.”

“This cutting-edge detector made at Celestica is the result of a global collaboration between Canadians and scientists from Germany, the UK, the US, Japan, and many others on the ATLAS experiment at CERN”, observed Prof. Richard Teuscher, a Physics Professor at the University of Toronto and a Research Scientist with the Canadian Institute of Particle Physics (IPP).  “The University of Toronto ATLAS group is proud to be working with Celestica and our ATLAS collaborators to produce this world-class sensor in Canada”, said University of Toronto Physics Professor Robert Orr.

ATLAS Experiment at CERN

ATLAS is the world’s largest particle physics experiment, located 100 m underground at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The ATLAS detector is searching for new discoveries in the head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy. The ATLAS collaboration represents about 3000 scientists from 177 institutions in 38 countries. ATLAS will learn about the basic forces that have shaped our Universe since the beginning of time and that will determine its fate. Among the possible unknowns are the origin of mass, extra dimensions of space, microscopic black holes, and evidence for dark matter candidates in the Universe.  About 150 Canadian scientists work on the ATLAS experiment, from the University of Alberta, Carleton University, McGill University, l’Université de Montréal, Simon Fraser University, the University of Toronto, TRIUMF, the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, and York University, supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and The Canada Foundation for Innovation.

About University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is Canada’s premier university, with strong academic and research performance that ranks among the top universities worldwide. The University of Toronto Experimental High Energy Physics group is one of the largest groups in Canada, with a number of leading roles in the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The faculty members in the ATLAS Toronto group include Prof. Robert S. Orr,  Prof. Peter Krieger, Prof. Pierre Savard, Prof. Pekka Sinervo, Prof. Richard Teuscher, and Prof. William Trischuk. The group is one of those responsible for the construction and operation of the ATLAS Forward Calorimeters and the ATLAS Diamond Beam Monitors. Toronto is the site of one of the Central Canadian ATLAS Tier II computing sites. The group is active in a range of physics analyses, and played key roles in the discovery of the Higgs boson, for which the Nobel Prize in Physics was jointly awarded in 2013 to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs. They received the award for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. In 2015 the group initiated production of silicon microstrip sensors for the future ATLAS detector upgrade.

About Celestica

Celestica is dedicated to delivering end-to-end product lifecycle solutions to drive our customers’ success. Through our simplified global operations network and information technology platform, we are solid partners who deliver informed, flexible solutions that enable our customers to succeed in the markets they serve. Committed to providing a truly differentiated customer experience, our agile and adaptive employees share a proud history of demonstrated expertise and creativity that provides our customers with the ability to overcome complex challenges.

For further information on Celestica, visit www.celestica.com.