CC BY 4.0 UnportedPaolozzi, L.Munker, M.Cardella, R.Milanesio, M.Gurimskaya, Y.Martinelli, F.Picardi, A.Rücker, H.Trusch, A.Valerio, P.Cadoux, F.Cardarelli, R.Débieux, S.Favre, Y.Fenoglio, C.A.Ferrere, D.Gonzalez-Sevilla, S.Kotitsa, R.Magliocca, C.Moretti, T.Nessi, M.Pizarro Medina, A.Sabater Iglesias, J.Saidi, J.Vicente Barreto Pinto, M.Zambito, S.Iacobucci, G.2023-02-062023-02-062022https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/11300http://dx.doi.org/10.34657/10336The Picosecond Avalanche Detector is a multi-junction silicon pixel detector based on a (NP)drift(NP)gain structure, devised to enable charged-particle tracking with high spatial resolution and picosecond time-stamp capability. It uses a continuous junction deep inside the sensor volume to amplify the primary charge produced by ionizing radiation in a thin absorption layer. The signal is then induced by the secondary charges moving inside a thicker drift region. A proof-of-concept monolithic prototype, consisting of a matrix of hexagonal pixels with 100 μm pitch, has been produced using the 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process by IHP microelectronics. Measurements on probe station and with a 55Fe X-ray source show that the prototype is functional and displays avalanche gain up to a maximum electron gain of 23. A study of the avalanche characteristics, corroborated by TCAD simulations, indicates that space-charge effects due to the large primary charge produced by the conversion of X-rays from the ^55Fe source limits the effective gain.enghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0610Particle tracking detectors (Solid-state detectors)Pixelated detectors and associated VLSI electronicsSolid state detectorsTiming detectorsArticle