Abstract
As photon detection is a major issue in any high-energy astronomy instrumentation, many space missions combined photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with scintillators, for converting incoming high-energy photons into visible light, which in turn is converted in an electrical pulse. The silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), instead of PMTs which are bulky, fragile, and requiring a high-voltage power supply of up to several thousand volts, seem to be an encouraging alternative in the space field. We started a R&D program to assess the possibility of using SiPMs for space-based applications in the domain of high-energy astronomy. We already presented some results of the detector characterization to study the SiPM performance in a representative space environment, namely at low temperature and low pressure. For this purpose, we developed a dedicated vacuum chamber with a specific mechanical and thermal controlled system. After measuring dark current, dark count rate and PDE (Photon Detection Efficiency), we performed a first campaign of irradiation tests at UCL (Belgium) in order to understand the susceptibility of SiPM to radiation damage on two selected detectors (Ketek and SensL references) with a high level of fluence. Finally we led a new proton irradiation campaign based on several lower levels of fluence and two energies for further study. We then present the results of dark current measurements of irradiated SensL detectors.
Highlights
As photon detection is a major issue in any high-energy astronomy instrumentation, many ground telescopes and space missions combined photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with scintillators, for converting incoming high-energy photons into visible light, which in turn is converted in an electrical pulse [1][2]
We report here some results of dark current measurements made before and after proton irradiation, at several temperatures under different pressure settings
Our measurements suggest that the dark current considerably increases after irradiation of 4 silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) detectors, whereas the breakdown voltage remains the same
Summary
As photon detection is a major issue in any high-energy astronomy instrumentation, many ground telescopes and space missions combined photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with scintillators, for converting incoming high-energy photons into visible light, which in turn is converted in an electrical pulse [1][2]. The silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), instead of bulky and fragile PMTs that require a high-voltage of several thousand volts, seem to be an encouraging alternative to PMTs in the space field. They could be used for ensuring better robustness and reliability, and their higher Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE) will enlarge the overlap in detected cosmic-ray energies with ground-based facilities. 012006-2 fields environments and their low power consumption decreases the thermal dissipation. All these technical specifications are powerful arguments for future space telescopes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
