Abstract
Full exploitation of the intrinsic fast timing capabilities of analog silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) requires suitable front-end electronics. Even a parasitic inductance of a few nH, associated to the interconnections between the SiPM and the preamplifier, can significantly degrade the steepness of the detector response, thus compromising the timing accuracy. In this work, we propose a simple analytic expression for the single-photon response of a SiPM coupled to the front-end electronics, as a function of the main parameters of the detector and the preamplifier, taking into account the parasitic inductance. The model is useful to evaluate the influence of each parameter of the system on the slope of its response and to guide the designer in the definition of the architecture and the specifications for the front-end electronics. The results provided by the model have been successfully compared with experimental measurements from a front-end circuit with variable configuration based on a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), coupled to a 3 × 3 mm2 SiPM stimulated by a fast-pulsed laser source.
Highlights
Accuracy in time measurements represents a challenging task for a growing number of photo-detection systems in applications such as time-of-flight positron emission tomography (ToF-PET) [1], γ-ray spectroscopy [2], time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) [3,4], and distance measurements (LiDAR) [5,6]
The design of effective Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs)-based detection systems aiming at good single-photon time resolution calls for the development of high-speed and low-noise front-end electronics
We propose a new approximate analysis which results in few simple mathematical equations that relate some features of the single-photon time response of a SiPM readout circuit to the most important circuit parameters, including the parasitic inductance Lpar
Summary
Accuracy in time measurements represents a challenging task for a growing number of photo-detection systems in applications such as time-of-flight positron emission tomography (ToF-PET) [1], γ-ray spectroscopy [2], time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) [3,4], and distance measurements (LiDAR) [5,6]. Whenever good timing accuracy is required, it is important to figure out how the parameters of the front-end electronics, such as the input resistance and the bandwidth, affect the leading edge of the output pulse and its slope For this purpose, even though powerful simulation tools and accurate models of the system can be used, analytical expressions of the response Vout (t) and its slope as a function of the main parameters involved can be very helpful. An effective model of the whole detection system, besides including the parameters of both the SiPM and the preamplifier, must take account of this inductance This results in increased complexity of the transfer function of the system, which makes it very difficult to obtain the desired analytical expression for both the system response and its slope as a function of time. The achieved results show that our analytical model reproduces the slope of the single-photon circuit response as a function of the main parameters involved
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