At CERN, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) hosts many electronic systems based on components off the shelf (COTS) that are exposed to a mixed radiation field. The energy spectra of particles at LHC can range from a few megaelectronvolt thermal neutrons (ThNs) to the gigaelectronvolt range and as a result, these components can be affected by all radiation effects at the same time: displacement damage (DD), total ionizing dose (TID), and single event effects (SEEs).

These magnitudes, can strongly vary according to the position of interest inside the LHC and for this reason, it is important to have an instrument able to measure and to monitor the radiation level in such environments. Radiation monitoring systems are also important for: a) Anticipating the electronics degradation b) Investigating the cause of failures; c) Simulation benchmarking.

The reasons above motivated the development of a radiation monitoring system such as the RadMon able to perform all of these actions. However, this system-imposed limitations on monitoring installations both in terms of cost (installation of cables) and installation time. To overcome all these limitations, a new wireless IoT monitoring system, the BatMon, [1] [2[] was developed. This system retains all the advantages and potential of its predecessor, such as modularity and dosimetry performance, and in addition, is completely wireless. In fact, in addition to being powered by batteries, the system uses low data rate wireless technology (LoRa) to transmit measurements, which makes it cable-independent.

It is already integrated into CERN's network and, since not all areas of CERN are currently covered by LoRa connectivity, it is used in passive or active mode depending on coverage. Passive mode is simply a mode in which LoRa is switched off and measurements are saved on a non-volatile flash memory.

Thanks to its enhanced flexibility the system will allow deployment of tens of devices in different locations in a couple of days, which is not possible with the RadMon. Furthermore, its modularity will allow the new system to be the platform for the development of new systems and sensors and  the test vehicle for the assessment and validation of new procedure and mitigation technique at system level.

References:

[1] A. Zimmaro et al., "Testing and Validation Methodology for a Radiation Monitoring System for Electronics in Particle Accelerators," in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, vol. 69, no. 7, pp. 1642-1650, July 2022, doi: 10.1109/TNS.2022.3158527.

[2] S. Danzeca, A. Zimmaro, T. Cass, A. Masi, R. Sierra, " WIRELESS IOT IN PARTICLE ACCELERATORS: A PRACTICAL APPROACH WITH THE IOT RADIATION MONITOR AT CERN”, presented at the 13th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf. (IPAC’22), Muang Thong Thani, Thailand, June 2022.