Development of pixel sensors for radiation detection: new technologies from DII for physics, space, and medical-industrial imaging

For over ten years, the Department of Industrial Engineering (DII) at the University of Trento has been developing CMOS pixel sensors for radiation detection. This versatile technology has applications ranging from high-energy physics to space observation, and from medical to industrial imaging.

The research started with the SEED project (funded by INFN) and has since expanded thanks to multiple national and international grants (INFN, MUR, ASI, European Union). The research group, led by Lucio Pancheri, collaborates closely with TIFPA and several INFN sections across Italy. Their main goal is to adapt CMOS processes, originally developed for optical sensors in digital cameras, to detect charged particles (such as protons) and X-rays.

From medicine to space

The developed sensors are applied in various scientific and technological fields:

• Medicine: Proton Computed Tomography, CT, SPECT
  
• Space observation: detection of cosmic radiation
  
• Particle physics: experiments like ALICE at CERN
  
• Industrial and research imaging: X-ray detectors
  

While CMOS sensors for visible light are already widely used in consumer electronics, adapting them to ionizing radiation requires specific solutions. Compared to today’s hybrid sensors, the integrated devices developed at DII provide: higher spatial resolution, lower costs 
reduced energy consumption, simplified assembly.

These features make them an enabling technology in many areas.

Funded projects (2015–today)

Over the years, the research has been consolidated through several projects, including:

• SEED (INFN) – process development with a commercial silicon foundry.
  
• ARCADIA (INFN) – demonstration of a large-area sensor (1 cm²).
  
• ALICE (CERN) – contribution to the LHC detector upgrade, with potential applications in timing modules.
  
• HyPoSicX (PRIN2022) – hybrid CMOS/perovskite detectors for medical applications.
  
• SpaceItUp! (PNRR-Space) – sensors for cosmic radiation measurement.
  
• 1MICRON (EU, EIC Pathfinder Open) – launched on March 31, 2025, focused on developing ultra-high-resolution X-ray sensors for real-time detection of tumor margins during surgery. Project link.
  

An interdisciplinary team effort

The strength of these projects lies in combining skills from microelectronics, physics, materials engineering, circuit electronics, data processing, and medicine. This interdisciplinary approach makes it possible to create innovative tools tailored to advanced research and application needs.

A significant achievement is the recognition awarded to Dr. Thomas Corradino, who completed his PhD in Materials, Mechatronics and Systems Engineering at DII. In 2024, he received the Gatti Manfredi Radiation Instrumentation PhD Award from the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Science Society – Italian Section, for the best doctoral thesis in radiation instrumentation.

Looking ahead

The path undertaken by DII shows how basic research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and technological innovation can turn into practical tools serving science, medicine, and industry. The results achieved so far pave the way for increasingly advanced applications, aiming to expand our understanding of the universe, make space travel safer, support scientific research, and provide innovative solutions for patient diagnosis and treatment.
This commitment confirms the University of Trento as an international reference point in the development of next-generation sensors.

Images

The images show:

• Fig.1: a silicon wafer produced in the INFN ARCADIA project, containing technology demonstrators;
• Fig.2: a micrograph of extracted chips, with various test structures for process calibration and sensor characterization.