Radiation hardness test of the Philips Digital Photon Counter with proton beam

Abstract

The Philips Digital Photon Counter (DPC) is a silicon photomultiplier combining Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (G-APD) and dedicated readout electronics in the same chip. The DPC is a promising photon sensor for future RICH detectors. A known issue of G-APD is its sensitivity to radiation damage. Two DPC sensors were tested using 800MeV/c protons. An increase of dark counting rate with proton fluence up to 4·1011cm−2 has been measured.