Characterization and performance optimization of radiation monitoring sensors for high energy physics experiments at the CERN LHC and Super-LHC

In order to study the matter originating from the universe, a new particle accelerator named the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been built at CERN. The radiation environment generated by the hadrons collisions in the high energy physics experiments of the LHC will be complex and locally very intense. For monitoring this complex radiation field, dosimeters have been installed in the LHC experiments. In previous study, RadFET dosimeters and PIN diodes have been characterized for their use in the particle accelerator. However, even if the RadFETs sensors have been already extensively characterized, their radiation response can be affected by their package. Depending on the material and the geometry, the package can induce errors in the dose measurement. In this thesis, a complete study has been carried out in order to evaluate its influence. Concerning the PIN diodes, the readout protocol used for the LHC is no longer valuable for the Super-LHC. Therefore, a complete study on their radiation response has been performed up to very high fluences (≈ 6×1015 neq/cm2) in view of their utilization as radiation monitoring sensors for the Super-LHC.