Characterization Of Silicon Photomultipliers Research Articles

Silicon photomultipliers characterization for the EMR prototype of the MICE experiment

The SiPMs are excellent candidates for the replacement of PMTs in many experimental situations. In this article we describe the performances of different types of SiPMs from Hamamatsu and FBK-IRST before and after irradiation with photons and neutrons in terms of signal to noise ratio, time resolution and efficiency. The SiPMs are connected to a scintillation tracker/calorimeter, composed of eight layers ( 4 x and 4 y ) of 10 scintillating bars each and have been tested at the CERN PS T9 beamline. The tracker/calorimeter is a small-size prototype of a bigger detector called EMR (Electron Muon Ranger), a particle identification system developed for the MICE experiment.

Electro-optical characterization of SiPM: A comparative study

This work reports on the development of an electro-optical set-up for the characterization of the Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM) devices as well as on the comparative study of the characteristics of different SiPM prototypes. The electrical set-up allows the measurement of the static (breakdown voltage, overvoltage quenching resistance) and dynamic (gain, dark count rate) characteristics. The optical set-up allows the estimation of the photon detection efficiency as a function of the wavelength and the operation voltage. The comparative study has been performed on SiPM devices covering an area of 1×1 mm 2 and supplied during 2007 by Photonique S.A. (Switzerland), FBK-irst (Italy), SensL (Ireland) and Hamamatsu (Japan).

Thermal and Electrical Characterization of Silicon Photomultiplier

Detection of low levels of light is one of the key aspects in medical and space applications. Silicon photomultiplier, a novel type of avalanche photodetector which operates in Geiger mode, shows promising results and offer superior design options. The performance characteristics of the SiPM realized in FBK-irst are studied and presented in this paper. The leakage current, dark rate and internal gain are characterized as a function of temperature. The investigation has been carried out in the framework of the DASiPM Collaboration and the INFN/FBK-irst MEMS project.

Single photon timing resolution and detection efficiency of the IRST silicon photo-multipliers

Silicon photo-multipliers (SiPM) consist in matrices of tiny, passive quenched avalanche photo-diode cells connected in parallel via integrated resistors and operated in Geiger mode. Novel types of SiPM are being developed at FBK-IRST (Trento, Italy). Despite their classical shallow junction n-on-p structure the devices are unique in their enhanced photo-detection efficiency (PDE) for short-wavelengths and in their low level of dark rate and excess noise factor. After a summary of the extensive SiPM characterization we will focus on the study of PDE and the single photon timing resolution.