Power Distribution Solutions for Large Hadron Collider Upgrades

In view of the Large Hadrons Collider experiments upgrade, where the inner front-end electronics will require higher supply power, a new power distribution scheme has to be designed. This thesis presents a new and more efficient scheme based on step-down DC-DC converters, which will be placed close to front-end electronics where it will be exposed to intense radiation (250 Mrad) and magnetic field (4Tesla). Other than tolerance to these fields, additional constrains are small volume and mass and low noise emission not to affect the sensitive front-end electronics. Since no commercial component can meet these requirements, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) DC/DC converter has been developed and is presented in this work. The chosen converter topology is the buck because it presents the best compromise in terms of efficiency and low mass among the different compared topologies. Radiation hardness can be achieved with appropriate choice of the semiconductor technology combined with layout modifications. Magnetic field tolerance is attained with the use of an air core inductor whose shape can be toroidal for limiting the magnetic field emissions. All the ASIC building blocks are presented in this thesis likewise their design methodology: their schemes and the transistors sizing are discussed as well as the AC analysis to grant the stability of the output voltage over the selected range of frequencies. Three different prototypes had been integrated in the two chosen semiconductor technologies (mainstream and backup). Tests showing high efficiency (up to 85%) and the required level of radiation hardness are presented and discussed.

Enhanced-performance integrated Resonant Switched-Capacitor and Buck DC-DC converters for application in extreme radiation and magnetic field environments

Giacomo Ripamonti

DC-DC converters based on Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) have been developed in this doctoral work for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) experiments at CERN. They step down the voltage from a 2.5 V line and supply a load current up to 3 A. The main focus has been the miniaturization of the converters while maintaining high efficiency, together with the improvement of the dynamic performance and the minimization of the impact of substrate parasitic devices. These are challenges that industry and research are facing to power modern microprocessors, with the aim of minimizing the system volume, cost and power consumption, while guaranteeing good regulation performance. Miniaturization is a key requirement for application in the HL-LHC experiments, since any added material is detrimental for the physics performance. In addition, the converters must be tolerant to a high magnetic field (up to 4 T) and to ultra-high levels of radiation. Tolerance to the magnetic field is achieved by employing air-core inductors (which are the bulkiest components on the board), while radiation-hard ASICs have been designed in this work in a commercial 130 nm CMOS technology by extensively applying hardening by design techniques. Converters using two different architectures have been designed: a buck converter, which had been identified in a previous work as a good option to achieve high efficiency and low mass, and a Resonant Switched-Capacitor (ReSC) converter, which can further increase the power density while keeping high efficiency. A novel dual-edge pulse width modulator for the buck converter that has improved dynamic performance compared to conventional solutions has been designed and implemented. Its small-signal response has been modeled, and the model has been validated by measurements. In addition, this thesis proposes an integrated system that monitors in real-time the voltage stress experienced by the devices of the buck converter and adjusts its operation accordingly, in order to guarantee the required reliability, while maximizing the efficiency. The main building block of this system has been designed and has proved to be fully functional. A substrate-currents-aware characterization method that allows the evaluation of the impact of substrate parasitic devices on the circuit performance and reliability has been also devised, and it has been applied to select the best floor-plan for the buck converter. A novel control scheme that optimizes the efficiency of the ReSC converter for the whole load current range by adopting different operation modes has been proposed and implemented. This thesis reports the steady-state analysis of each mode and a small-signal model for one of them. The buck converter uses a 100 nH inductor, and the last prototype shows a peak efficiency of 88.4% for the 2.5 V-to-1.2 V conversion. It complies with the radiation specifications, and mass production will soon start. The designed prototype ReSC converter employs a 12 nH inductor, and its area occupancy and thickness are respectively 20% and 55% lower than the buck. Its efficiency is larger than that of the buck converter in a range of conversion ratios and load currents, reaching a peak efficiency of 91.4% for the 2.5 V-to-1.2 V conversion. Radiation tests have highlighted that the converter complies with Total Ionizing Dose specifications. By introducing a few improvements, a future prototype could be close to production readiness.

EPFL2020

A finite element model of the LHC dipole cold mass with hysteretic, non-linear behavior and single turn description

Mirko Pojer

In one of its acceptation, the word quench is synonym of destruction. And this is even more consistent with reality in the case of the Large Hadron Collider dipole magnets, whose magnetic field and stored energy are unprecedented: the uncontrolled transition from the superconducting to the resistive state can be the origin of dramatic events. This is why the protection of magnets is so important, and why so many studies and investigations have been carried out on quench origin. The production, cold testing and installation of the 1232 arc dipole magnets is completed. They have fulfilled all the requirements and the operation reliability of these magnets has already been partially confirmed. From an academic standpoint, nevertheless, the anomalous mechanical behaviour, which was sometimes observed during power tests, has not yet been given a clear explanation. The work presented in this thesis aims at providing an instrument to better understand the reasons for such anomalies, by means of finite element modelling of the cross-section of the dipole cold mass. During the investigation on quench phenomenology and its characterization, a distinction can be done between the two main quench origins during cold test without beam: the local degradation of the conductor and the frictional heating resulting from mechanical disturbances (such as conductor motion under the effects of the Lorentz forces). Concerning the second type, it is illustrated how important a good positioning of the cables is in a magnet cross-section and which is the fundamental role of azimuthal pre-stress. There are numerous studies of the consequences of conductor motion under the effect of electro-magnetic forces and of the loss of pre-stress during energization. However, no model has ever been able to reproduce in detail and predict such phenomena. The present model, developed in ANSYS® environment, was initiated with the idea of representing the real behaviour of an LHC-type dipole coil, by taking into account each turn individually, reproducing the non-linear and hysteretic mechanical behaviour observed on a stack of insulated cables and inserting friction between mating surfaces. The representation of the mechanical complexity of the composite material is certainly one of the originalities of this study. To validate the model, a comparison with elastic modulus measurements, systematically performed in industry, was carried out, both for single layers and for assembled poles. The agreement is certainly worth the effort lavished and justifies the following steps in simulation, which are the modelling of the collaring mechanism and the cool-down process. These are other important and original elements. The last one, in particular, requires progressively changing the mechanical properties of the superconductor, following the temperature profile. This implied some simplifications to comply with the enhanced convergence difficulties, but does not invalidate the goodness of the description and the results obtained. This is a faithful reproduction of a magnet life-cycle, uncommon in this kind of studies.

EPFL2009

An early separation scheme for the LHC luminosity upgrade

Guido Sterbini

In this thesis we evaluate the potential of the Early Separation Scheme for the Luminosity Upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The main goal of the Early Separation Scheme is to reduce the crossing angle between the proton beams at the collision point in order to increase the luminosity performance of the machine and to alleviate, at the same time, the detrimental effects due to the electromagnetic interaction between the beams. The Early Separation Scheme consists of four dipoles for each of the two high luminosity Interaction Points of the LHC, corresponding to the ATLAS and CMS detectors. Two dipoles out of the four, the so-called D0 dipoles, have to be integrated in the experimental cavern. We show that, working in synergy with an increased beam current and with a stronger final focusing system, the Early Separation Scheme can provide an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb-1 over a period of 6.5 – 7 years with a leveled luminosity of 5.5 1034 cm-2 s-1. These figures are possible thanks to the luminosity leveling by using the crossing angle. We study the impact of the Early Separation Scheme from the beam dynamics point of view by evaluating its linear and non-linear effects. We show, using an analytical approach, that all induced linear effects are negligible. The non-linear effects, namely the electromagnetic interaction between the beams, are considered by means of numerical simulations and dedicated experiments. From the simulation and the experimental results, we have indications about the minimum beam crossing angle that is still compatible with the beam dynamics constraints. From these indications and by considering the different issues related to the integration of the scheme in the detectors, we propose to position the D0 dipole at 14 m from the Interaction Point. The integrated magnetic field required and the space constraints in the detectors imply the use of a superconducting D0 dipole: we optimize its aperture to reduce the power deposited on the magnet's coil by the collision debris. Due to the high power density impinging on the coil and to the 9 T magnetic field required, we propose a magnet cross-section using a Nb3Sn superconducting cable at the temperature of 4.2 K.

EPFL2010