Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) dynamic response and dark count vs temperature correlation

Project FleX-RAY employed photon counting capable sensors in order to capture light that was generated by the scintillation phenomenon, in plastic scintillating fibres. These special photodiodes are called Silicon Photomultipliers, or SiPMs. In order to determine the suitability and performance of different SiPM models available in the market, we carried out a series of tests to : 

Evaluate the correlation of dark count rate against temperature and

Compare the amplitude response of the actual devices when excited by a 50 picosecond light pulse.

The data of series 1 are tabulated in the spreadsheet titled "darkCountVsTemp.xlsx".

The data of series 2 are arranged in separate "zip" archives, each titled by the device model under test. These zip archives are within a master zip file titled "SiPM_laser_pulse_response.zip".

Test equipment and set-up:

Devices under test: Hamamatsu models S13360-1375, S13360-3075 and ON-Semi models microFC-10020, microFC-10035 

Measurement device(s)/board(s): To excite SiPMs, we used picosecond pulse laser type PLDD-100k-OEM from Alphalas. To record raw pulse output of SiPMs we used oscilloscope Tektronix DPO7104. To record the darkcount rate of SiPMs we used oscillsocope Keysight DSOX1204G. A custom, 3D-printed light-tight box was used to shield the SiPMs from ambient light.

This work was financed by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program under grant agreement No. 899634.