Performance Of Silicon Photomultipliers Research Articles

Impact of long-pass interferential filters on dark current and background light rejection in Silicon Photomultipliers

There is an increasing interest in using Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) in emerging applications where the detectors have to operate in ambient environment with high sensitivity and fast timing response in combination with narrow bandwidth light emitting sources like LEDs or VCSELs. The need to use large area detectors for optimizing the light collection efficiency, due to the low optical fluxes to be usually detected, imposes the optimization of the SiPM performance in specific wavelength ranges (usually visible or near infrared), to fully exploit the single photon sensitivity of these detectors and not to reduce at the same time their dynamic range. The use of proper optical long-pass filters on the detector's package can represent a suitable way to reach both these targets, through the reduction of environmental light absorption. Here we present the preliminary results obtained from the characterization of n+-p SiPMs with commercial long-pass filters with increasing cut-on wavelength in the range 500 nm–900 nm glued on the top side of the detector's package. The performance of the detectors has been evaluated in terms of dark current variation induced by the use of the filters and background light rejection under the illumination of white fluorescent lamps. The relevant reduction observed in the dark current (up to 90% at 13 V overvoltage) and the consistent reduction of stray light absorption (up to 90% at 3 V overvoltage with a 900 nm cut-on wavelength long-pass filter) are the main characterization results obtained and shown in this paper.

Neutron irradiation effect on SiPMs up to [formula omitted] = 5 [formula omitted] 1014 cm−2

Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPM) are becoming the photo-detector of choice for increasingly more particle detection applications, from fundamental physics, to medical and societal applications. One major consideration for their use at high-luminosity colliders is the radiation damage induced by hadrons, which leads to a dramatic increase of the dark count rate. KETEK SiPMs have been exposed to various fluences of reactor neutrons up to Φneq = 5 × 1014 cm−2 (1 MeV equivalent neutrons). Results from the I–V, and C–V measurements for temperatures between − 30 °C and +30 °C are presented. We propose a new method to quantify the effect of radiation damage on the SiPM performance. Using the measured dark current the single pixel occupation probability as a function of temperature and excess voltage is determined. From the pixel occupation probability the operating conditions for given requirements can be optimized. The method is qualitatively verified using current measurements with the SiPM illuminated by blue LED light.

Silicon photomultiplier low temperature characterization for future neutrino detectors

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are compact solid state photodetectors having single photoelectron (PE) level sensitivity. Due to their attributes, they are being considered for the photo detection systems of future neutrino detectors. Consequently, comprehensive studies of SiPMs at cryogenic temperatures are required since the data provided by the manufactures do not cover this temperature regime. In this work, SiPMs are tested for proper operation in a cryostat for the expected lifetime of the future experiments. The characterization of SenSL C-series SiPMs and their long-term mechanical durability are discussed. Performance of SiPMs from other vendors are also discussed.

The Performance of Silicon Photomultipliers in Cherenkov TOF PET

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) were considered as photodetectors in Cherenkov time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF PET) due to their relatively high photon detection efficiency (PDE) which resulted in a higher gamma detection efficiency of the Cherenkov PET detector. SiPMs produced by KETEK, AdvanSiD, SensL and Hamamatsu were tested in this application. The coincidence time resolution, gamma detection efficiency and single side event rates were measured in a simple experimental setup, consisting of two detectors placed in a coincidence configuration. The apparatus was cooled to $- 25^ \circ {\rm C}$ in order to reduce the SiPM dark count rates. A single side gamma detection efficiency of up to 26% was measured, which is a marked improvement over previous Cherenkov TOF PET measurements. The best measured coincidence time resolution of 297 ps FWHM was limited by the time response of the SiPMs used for this experiments.

SPICE Electrical Models and Simulations of Silicon Photomultipliers

We present and discuss a comprehensive electrical model for Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) based on a microcell able to accurately simulate the avalanche current build-up and the self-quenching of its Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) “pixel” with series-connected quenching resistor. The entire SiPM is modeled either as an array of microcells, each one individually triggered by independent incoming photons, or as two macrocells, one with microcells all firing concurrently while the other one with all quiescent microcells; the most suitable approach depends on the light excitation conditions and on the dimension (i.e. number of microcells) of the overall SiPM. We validated both models by studying the behavior of SiPMs in different operating conditions, in order to study the effect of photons pile-up, the deterministic and statistical mismatches between microcells, the impact of the number of firing microcells vs. the total one, and the role of different microcell parameters on the overall SiPM performance. The electrical models were developed in SPICE and can simulate both custom-process and CMOS-compatible SiPMs, with either vertical or horizontal current-flow. The proposed simulation tools can benefit both SiPM users, e.g. for designing the best readout electronics, and SiPM designers, for assessing the impact of each parameter on the overall detection performance and electrical behavior.

The performance of silicon photomultipliers in Cherenkov TOF PET.

In time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF PET) one of the main factors limiting the time resolution is the time evolution of the scintillation process. This can be avoided by using exclusively the Cherenkov light produced in a suitable material. Sub 100 ps FWHM timing has already been experimentally demonstrated but with a drawback of relatively low detection efficiency due to the photodetectors used. In this work silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are considered as a photodetector in Cherenkov TOF PET. The detection efficiency can be significantly improved by using SiPMs, however, at room temperature the SiPM dark counts introduce a significant source of fake coincidences. SiPM samples from different producers were tested in a simple back-to-back setup in combination with lead fluoride Cherenkov radiators. Results for coincidence timing, detection efficiency and effects of dark counts at different temperatures and SiPM overvoltages are presented.

SiPM response to long and intense light pulses

Recently Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) have become well recognized as the detector of choice for various applications which demand good photon number resolution and time resolution of short weak light pulses in the nanosecond time scale. In the case of longer and more intensive light pulses, SiPM performance gradually degrades due to dark noise, afterpulsing, and non-instant cell recovering. Nevertheless, SiPM benefits are expected to overbalance their drawbacks in applications such as X-ray cargo inspection using Scintillation-Cherenkov detectors and accelerator beam loss monitoring with Cherenkov fibres, where light pulses of a microsecond time scale have to be detected with good amplitude and timing resolution in a wide dynamic range of 105–106.This report is focused on transient characteristics of a SiPM response on a long rectangular light pulse with special attention to moderate and high light intensities above the linear dynamic range. An analytical model of the transient response and an initial consideration of experimental results in comparison with the model are presented.

Characterization Measurements Methodology and Instrumental Set-Up Optimization for New SiPM Detectors—Part I: Electrical Tests

A comprehensive and in-depth characterization procedure for obtaining very accurate measurements on silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors is described here. A large amount of electro-optical tests are systematically carried out in terms of the most significant SiPM performance parameters; in particular, an accurate estimation of the photon detection efficiency is achieved, based on the single-photon counting technique, with substraction of the dark noise contribution and avoiding the additional noise sources of crosstalk and after pulsing. Some recently produced detectors are analyzed and their relevant electro-optical parameters are evaluated in order to confirm the effectiveness and efficacy of the adopted characterization procedure in assessing the overall SiPM performance. The repeatibility of measurements is carefully verified. All evaluated parameter trends are proved to be compatible with the physics theory of the SiPM device.

High-volume silicon photomultiplier production, performance, and reliability

This publication details CMOS foundry fabrication, reliability stress assessment, and packaged sen- sor test results obtained during qualification of the SensL B-Series silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). SiPM sensors with active-area dimensions of 1, 3, and 6 mm were fabricated and tested to provide a comprehensive review of SiPM performance highlighted by fast output rise times of 300 ps and photon detection efficiency of greater than 41%, combined with low afterpulsing and crosstalk. Measurements important for medical imaging positron emis- sion tomography systems that rely on time-of-flight detectors were completed. Results with LSYO:Ce scintillation crystals of 3 × 3 × 20 mm 3 demonstrated a 225 � 2-ps coincidence resolving time (CRT), and the fast output is shown to allow for simultaneous acquisition of CRT and energy resolution. The wafer level test results from ∼150 k 3-mm SiPM are shown to demonstrate a mean breakdown voltage value of 24.69 V with a standard deviation of 0.073 V. The SiPM output optical uniformity is shown to be � 10% at a single supply voltage of 29.5 V. Finally, reliability stress assessment to Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) industry standards is detailed and shown to have been completed with all SiPM passing. This is the first qualification and reliability stress assessment program run to industry standards that has been reported on SiPM.©2014 Society

Performance of FBK high-density SiPM technology coupled to Ce:LYSO and Ce:GAGG for TOF-PET

This paper presents the performance, in terms of energy and timing resolution, of high-density silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) produced at Fondazione Bruno Kessler for time-of-flight positron emission tomography application. The new SiPM technology allows us to produce devices with a small cell size maintaining a high fill factor (FF). The sensors considered in this paper are composed by 30 × 30 μm2 cells with a FF exceeding 70% to cover a total area of 4 × 4 mm2. The SiPM performance was evaluated using two types of scintillators (Ce:LYSO and Ce:GaGG) both with a short height (5 mm) in order to minimize the time jitter caused by light propagation in the crystal. With Ce:LYSO, an energy resolution of 9.0% FWHM at 511 keV and a coincidence resolving time (CRT) of 125 ps FWHM were obtained at −20 °C. With Ce:GaGG, an energy resolution of 6.4% FWHM and a CRT of 260 ps FWHM were achieved at the same temperature. The novel SiPM technology, combining a high PDE with a low correlated noise (i.e., crosstalk and afterpulse), allows us to improve the state-of-the-art of energy and timing resolution with both the tested crystals.

A large area, silicon photomultiplier-based PET detector module

The introduction of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) has facilitated construction of compact, efficient and magnetic field-hardened positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. To take full advantage of these devices, methods for using them to produce large field-of-view PET scanners are needed. In this investigation, we explored techniques to combine two SiPM arrays to form the building block for a small animal PET scanner. The module consists of a 26×58 array of 1.5×1.5mm2 LYSO elements (spanning 41×91mm2) coupled to two SensL SiPM arrays. The SiPMs were read out with new multiplexing electronics developed for this project. To facilitate calculation of event position with multiple SiPM arrays it was necessary to spread scintillation light amongst a number of elements with a small light guide. This method was successful in permitting identification of all detector elements, even at the seam between two SiPM arrays. Since the performance of SiPMs is enhanced by cooling, the detector module was fitted with a cooling jacket, which allowed the temperature of the device and electronics to be controlled. Testing demonstrated that the peak-to-valley contrast ratio of the light detected from the scintillation array was increased by ~45% when the temperature was reduced from 28°C to 16°C. Energy resolution for 511keV photons improved slightly from 18.8% at 28°C to 17.8% at 16°C. Finally, the coincidence timing resolution of the module was found to be insufficient for time-of-flight applications (~2100ps at 14°C). The first use of these new modules will be in the construction of a small animal PET scanner to be integrated with a 3T clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

Development of a front-end analog circuit for multi-channel SiPM readout and performance verification for various PET detector designs

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are outstanding photosensors for the development of compact imaging devices and hybrid imaging systems such as positron emission tomography (PET)/ magnetic resonance (MR) scanners because of their small size and MR compatibility. The wide use of this sensor for various types of scintillation detector modules is being accelerated by recent developments in tileable multichannel SiPM arrays. In this work, we present the development of a front-end readout module for multi-channel SiPMs. This readout module is easily extendable to yield a wider detection area by the use of a resistive charge division network (RCN). We applied this readout module to various PET detectors designed for use in small animal PET/MR, optical fiber PET/MR, and double layer depth of interaction (DOI) PET. The basic characteristics of these detector modules were also investigated. The results demonstrate that the PET block detectors developed using the readout module and tileable multi-channel SiPMs had reasonable performance.

Initial results on SiPMs performance for use in medical imaging

Silicon photomultiplier (SiPMs) detectors are attractive candidates for replacing position sensitive photomultipliers in nuclear imaging. They are compact, they provide high gain with low bias voltage and show better response. The development of dedicated imaging prototypes based on SiPMs possesses several design challenges, since it is necessary to optimize scintillator and SiPM coupling, as well as signal amplification and digitization. In this work, we have investigated the performance of three SiPM modules constructed by SensL coupled on three scintillators (CsI:Tl, BGO, LYSO:Ce), which are used in SPECT and PET imaging. Irradiation was carried out using different sources, which covered a wide range of energies from 88 to 1275 keV. The parameters measured were output pulses' width and height, energy resolution and linearity as a function of bias voltage and sources energy.

LaBr3:Ce and SiPMs for time-of-flight PET: achieving 100 ps coincidence resolving time

The use of time-of-flight (TOF) information in positron emission tomography (PET) enables significant improvement in image noise properties and, therefore, lesion detection. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are solid-state photosensors that have several advantages over photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). SiPMs are small, essentially transparent to 511 keV gamma rays and insensitive to magnetic fields. This enables novel detector designs aimed at e.g. compactness, high resolution, depth-of-interaction (DOI) correction and MRI compatibility. The goal of the present work is to study the timing performance of SiPMs in combination with LaBr3:Ce(5%), a relatively new scintillator with promising characteristics for TOF-PET. Measurements were performed with two, bare, 3 mm × 3 mm × 5 mm LaBr3:Ce(5%) crystals, each coupled to a 3 mm × 3 mm SiPM. Using a 22Na point source placed at various positions in between the two detectors, a coincidence resolving time (CRT) of ∼100 ps FWHM for 511 keV annihilation photon pairs was achieved, corresponding to a TOF positioning resolution of ∼15 mm FWHM. At the same time, pulse height spectra with well-resolved full-energy peaks were obtained. To our knowledge this is the best CRT reported for SiPM-based scintillation detectors to date. It is concluded that SiPM-based scintillation detectors can provide timing resolutions at least as good as detectors based on PMTs.

The Silicon Photomultiplier for application to high-resolution Positron Emission Tomography

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for small animal studies requires high-resolution gamma cameras with high sensitivity. Traditionally, inorganic scintillators are used and, in recent times, coupled to position sensitive PMTs to achieve a higher resolution. Such PSPMTs are costly, operated at high voltage and have a relatively low packing fraction. However, their advantage, compared to current solid state photodetectors, is their high signal-to-noise ratio. The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a silicon diode detector that shows great promise as a photodetector for scintillators and hence application in nuclear medicine imaging applications. The microcell MRS (Metal–Resistor–Semiconductor) structure of the SiPM leads to a self-quenching, Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (GAPD), that produces a large gain ( 5 × 10 5 ) at low bias voltage (50 V) and proportional output for moderate photon flux. Such a compact silicon detector, with a performance similar to a PMT, is obviously well disposed to being developed into a close-packed array in order to have a position-sensitive detection surface. We propose a miniature, high-resolution camera for a small-animal PET imaging system that is based on such an array of SiPM. The design is based upon the classic Anger camera principle; each detector module consists of a continuous slab of scintillator, viewed by a matrix of SiPM. A detector head of 4 × 4 cm 2 in area is proposed, constructed from three such modules of the continuous camera described above. The stacked layers would give the system intrinsic depth of interaction (DOI) information. A summary of measured SiPM performance and results of a simulation of the proposed camera, using the Monte Carlo package GEANT4, are presented. It is shown that using three layers of 5 mm thick LSO, gives an efficiency of 68% with maximum count rates in the front layers. Intrinsic spatial resolution of < 0.4 mm FWHM was found although this is degraded at the edges. Although the inclusion of DOI information increases the overall spatial resolution, the parallax error was still found to be the limiting factor in a small animal system.

Silicon photomultiplier and its possible applications

The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a semiconductor device consisting of many photon microcounters (103mm−2) positioned on a common Si substrate. SiPM operates in a limited Geiger mode and has single photoelectron gain (106) and photon detection efficiency (20%) similar to vacuum PMT. Main SiPM features are described and a number of examples of its possible applications are demonstrated, such as scintillator fiber readout, scintillator tiles+WLS readout, imaging Cherenkov counter timing. These SiPM applications are based on experimental test data and SiPM performance is compared with other photodetectors (PMT, APD, HPD, VLPC).