A flexible open-access wire bonder for the ISOLDE Solenoidal Spectrometer upgrade project

我们周围看到的构成我们身体的元素主要是稳定的，但我们知道这些元素是在剧烈的天体物理场景中形成的，比如中子星合并，这些场景仍在我们的宇宙中进行。在这些爆炸情景中，元素的合成涉及不稳定原子核的核反应。这些不稳定原子核的未知结构和反应严重影响了我们对元素起源的理解，随着我们开始探索这些原子核的性质，在壳结构的演变上发现了令人惊讶的结果。这表明我们在稳定的原子核中发现的东西不能简单地外推到不稳定的系统中。自然界比我们预期的要丰富和多样得多，这导致了由核相互作用的潜在性质驱动的新壳结构。这些壳结构的位置与原子核的形状有着微妙而密切的联系。研究这门科学需要对不稳定原子核的结构和反应进行精确测量。在最近完成的一个项目中，我们在ISOLDE（欧洲核子研究中心）建造了ISOLDE螺线线光谱仪，该光谱仪的设计目的就是为了在ISOLDE（欧洲核子研究中心）完成这项工作，ISOLDE是世界上生产和加速放射性离子束的领先设施。光谱仪使用硅条探测器，用asic读出，这些探测器必须连接在一起才能产生实验数据。成千上万的电气连接是用超声波粘合的细线完成的。这是支撑硅跟踪器的技术，在所有四个主要的大型强子对撞机实验中，以及用于低能核物理实验的许多光谱仪中，都发现了硅跟踪器。通过这笔拨款，我们将购买一台新的线键机，为ISOLDE螺线线谱仪的计划升级制作原型探测器系统和探测器模块，这将为研究通常只在爆炸恒星中发现的原子核性质开辟新的机会。

The elements we see around us and that constitute our bodies are predominantly stable, yet we know these were forged in violent astrophysical scenarios such as neutron star mergers that are still ongoing in our universe. The synthesis of the elements in these explosive scenarios involves nuclear reactions involving unstable nuclei. The unknown structure and reactions of these unstable nuclei critically affects our understanding of the origin of elements and as we have begun to explore the properties of these nuclei, surprising results have been found on the evolution of shell structure. These indicate that what we find in stable nuclei cannot be simply extrapolated to unstable systems. Nature is far richer and more diverse than we anticipated, leading to new shell structures driven by the underlying nature of the nuclear interaction. The locations of these shell structures are subtly and intimately associated with the shapes of nuclei. Investigating this science requires precision measurements of the structure and reactions of unstable nuclei. In a recently completed project we constructed the ISOLDE Solenoidal Spectrometer that was designed to do just this at ISOLDE (CERN), which is the world's leading facility for the production and acceleration of radioactive ion beams. The spectrometer uses silicon strip detectors that are read out using ASICs and these have to be connected together to produce the experimental data. The thousands of electrical connections are made using thin wires that are bonded ultrasonically. This is the technology underpinning the silicon trackers found at the heart of all four main LHC experiments, as well as in a host of spectrometers for low-energy nuclear physics experiments. Through this grant we will buy a new wire bonder to make prototype detector systems and detector modules for the planned upgrades of the ISOLDE Solenoidal Spectrometer that will open up new opportunities for studying the properties of nuclei that are only usually to be found in exploding stars.