Weightfield2: A fast simulator for silicon and diamond solid state detector

Abstract We have developed a fast simulation program to study the performance of silicon and diamond detectors, Weightfield2 . The program uses GEANT4 libraries to simulate the energy released by an incoming particle in silicon (or diamond), and Ramo׳s theorem to generate the induced signal current. A graphical interface allows the user to configure many input parameters such as the incident particle, sensor geometry, presence and value of internal gain, doping of silicon sensor and its operating conditions, the values of an external magnetic field, ambient temperature and thermal diffusion. A simplified electronics simulator is also implemented to include the response of an oscilloscope and front-end electronics. The program has been validated by comparing its predictions for minimum ionizing and α particles with measured signals and TCAD simulations, finding very good agreement in both cases.