How Hamamatsu Photonics’ Sensors Enabled 1500+ CMS Papers

Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. has received a joint honor from the ATLAS and CMS experiments, announced on July 15, with the 2026 Industrial Award recognizing decades of crucial contributions to particle physics. The award acknowledges the company’s pivotal role in developing advanced technologies for detector systems including the ATLAS Inner Tracker and both the inner and outer trackers for CMS, as well as the CMS High-Granularity Calorimeter and MIP Timing Detector for the High-Luminosity LHC upgrade project. This partnership has impacted fundamental research, with CMS Spokesperson Anadi Canepa stating that Hamamatsu Photonics’ sensor technology has been a cornerstone of CMS, enabling physics results documented in more than 1500 scientific publications. Across both experiments, approximately 1000 square meters of silicon wafers have been procured from Hamamatsu Photonics, demonstrating the scale of their involvement in preparing for the next era of high-energy physics.

Hamamatsu Photonics’ Detector Contributions to ATLAS and CMS Trackers

This extensive involvement demonstrates a level of commitment rarely seen from a single industrial partner supporting two of the world’s most complex scientific instruments. This substantial contribution was not simply a matter of supply, but a collaborative effort built on decades of shared research and development, addressing demanding technical specifications and project timelines. This collaboration has yielded key advancements, including the development of high-quality p-type sensors utilizing six-inch production lines, the first large-scale eight-inch production of pad sensors, and novel low gain avalanche diodes (LGADs) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The ATLAS collaboration also recognizes Hamamatsu Photonics’ responsiveness and expertise in realizing ambitious detector concepts, as explained by ATLAS Upgrade Coordinator Benedetto Gorini.

CMS Upgrade Coordinator Frank Hartmann further emphasizes the reliability and quality of Hamamatsu Photonics’ work. This consistent performance, spanning over two decades of collaboration since 1997, has solidified Hamamatsu Photonics as an ideal industrial partner for both experiments.

The scale of silicon sensor provision for the High-Luminosity LHC is becoming clear as both the ATLAS and CMS experiments jointly recognize Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. with the 2026 Industrial Award; this acknowledgement highlights a strong and sustained industrial partnership critical to the future of particle physics. The complexity of the ATLAS Inner Tracker upgrade is particularly noteworthy, with Hamamatsu Photonics providing not only high-quality sensors for the strip detector but also jointly developing p-type sensors for the pixel detector and offering substantial support throughout the bump-bonding process. “The ATLAS ITk is the most ambitious detector upgrade ever undertaken by our Collaboration,” explains Benedetto Gorini, ATLAS Upgrade Coordinator.