Radiation damage of silicon detectors in intense particle fluxes - between testing and application in crossing beam experiments in the TeV energy range

Silicon detectors for application in high-energy physics experiments are tested with neutron and charged particle sources at energies much different from the actual conditions in experiments in which they will have to work. The transfer of the results is done via scaling with the non-ionizing energy implied in the interaction. This work presents limits of the method and errors implied in the evaluations previous to the experiments using silicon detectors for high precision tracking at the LHC. The NIEL scaling can solve successfully the extrapolation and projection of damage results in silicon detectors, from different particle sources, and ensures the traceability to further experimental scenarios. The test help in the choice of the optimum combinations of displacement functions. In case the NIEL scaling is verified. This formalism allows estimates with enough precision on limit damage for the silicon detectors to survive in LHC conditions, without affecting the experimental results. (authors)