Multichannel board to characterize fast timing sensors

The Upgrade II of the LHCb detector, foreseen for 2033, will operate at an instantaneous luminosity of 1.5 × 1034 cm2 s. To cope with the estimated pile- up of 42 and 2000 charged particle tracks per event, precise timing will be added to the tracking and vertexing sub-systems. A new Vertex Locator (VELO) is needed, one capable of managing the expected 7.5-fold increase in data rate, occupancy, and radiation fluence. In terms of sensors, different technologies are being explored: LGAD, 3D and planar. The LHCb VELO R&D group designed a sensor testing board that can study pico-second timing and interpixel performance of up to 16 pixels. The goal of the summer student project was to characterize the 16-channel board and to contribute to the R&D of different sensor technologies, including LGADs, 3Ds and planar, and test them in terms of radiation damage effects and timing properties.