Considerations on time resolution of neutron irradiated single pixel 3D structures at fuences up to 10¹⁷ neq/cm² using 120 GeV SPS pion beams

The proven radiation hardness of silicon 3D devices up to fluences of 1 × 10¹⁷ neq/cm² makes them an excellent choice for next generation trackers, providing < 10 μm position resolution at a high multiplicity environment. The anticipated pile-up increase at HL-LHC conditions and beyond, requires the addition of < 50 ps per hit timing information to successfully resolve displaced and primary vertices. In this study, the timing performance, uniformity and efficiency of neutron and proton irradiated single pixel 3D devices is discussed. Fluences up to 1 × 10¹⁷ neq/cm² in three different geometrical implementations are evaluated using 120 GeV SPS pion beams. A MIMOSA-26 type telescope is used to provide detailed tracking information with a ~ 5 μm position resolution. Productions with single- and double-sided processes, yielding active thicknesses of 130 and 230 μm respectively, are examined with varied pixel sizes from 55 × 55 μm² to 25 × 100 μm² and a comparative study of field uniformity is presented with respect to electrode geometry. The question of electronics bandwidth is extensively addressed with respect to achievable time resolution, efficiency and collected charge, forming a 3D phase space to which an appropriate operating point can be selected depending on the application requirements.