A novel silicon photomultiplier readout architecture for low-light applications[This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contractDE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). TheU.S. government retains and the publisher, by accepting the articlefor publication, acknowledges that the U.S. government retains acnonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish orreproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to

Abstract

In this article we describe the photon detection readout electronics for the nEDM@SNS experiment. The chosen “photon counting” architecture, which utilizes high-efficiency silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and is appropriate for low-light applications, allows the use of a relatively high SiPM operating voltage. This maximizes photon detection efficiency and minimizes gain/efficiency voltage-dependence while eliminating direct optical cross-talk.