ABSTRACT This paper describes a silicon photomultiplier device architecture achieving the ultimat... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a silicon photomultiplier device architecture achieving the ultimate physical limit of the dark count level. Two different structures are compared and the resulting dark count levels as a function of temperature and applied overvoltage are modelled by a 2D drift-diffusion device simulator. In the best structure, the concentration of minority carriers (electrons) approaching the depletion region from the anode side is below the concentration of holes approaching the depletion region from the cathode side. An improvement in the dark count level of a factor 50 is experimentally found, close to the ultimate physical limit.
We electrically and optically tested both single pixels and complete arrays of Silicon Photomulti... more We electrically and optically tested both single pixels and complete arrays of Silicon Photomultipliers, from 5×5 to 64x64, fabricated by STMicroelectronics. Single cell devices operation was studied as a function of the temperature from -25°C to 65°C varying the voltage over breakdown, from 5% up to 20% of the breakdown voltage. Optical characterization was performed using a laser at 659
ABSTRACT A novel Si-based detector, having a low noise and a high sensitivity, up to a single pho... more ABSTRACT A novel Si-based detector, having a low noise and a high sensitivity, up to a single photon detection, was used for a biosensor application. It is a Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), a device formed by avalanche diodes operating in Geiger mode, in parallel connections. Arrays with different dimensions were electro-optically characterized (5×5; 10×10 and 20×20 pixels) in order to identify the best geometry to be used in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, for our purposes. The SiPM array was used to study both traditional and innovative fluorophores. CY5 was chosen as "reference" marker. It has an absorption peak at 649 nm and an emission peak at 670 nm. Ru(bpy)3[Cl]2 was identified as innovative fluorophore, since it has absorption and emission peaks at 455 and 630 nm, respectively. Measurements were carried out in both functional regimes: continuous and pulsed. Emission spectra in the range 550-750 nm were measured with both traditional photomultipliers tubes (PMT) and SiPM operating at room temperature in continuous mode. More interestingly, fluorophore lifetimes were monitored showing that SiPM can measure lifetimes as short at 1 ns (CY5 lifetime), well below the lowest PMT limit (23 ns). Ru(bpy)3[Cl]2 lifetime characterization was performed with both PMT and SiPM (being in the hundreds of ns range), as a function of the solvent and after deposition and drying on glass substrates.
2010 Proceedings of the European Solid State Device Research Conference, 2010
Silicon photomultipliers are nowadays considered a promising alternative to conventional vacuum t... more Silicon photomultipliers are nowadays considered a promising alternative to conventional vacuum tube photomultipliers. The physical mechanisms operating in the device need to be fully explored and modeled to understand the device operational limits and possibilities. In this work we study the dark current behavior of the pixels forming the Si photomultiplier as a function of the applied overvoltage and operation
ABSTRACT The dark current behavior of the pixels forming the Si photomultiplier as a function of ... more ABSTRACT The dark current behavior of the pixels forming the Si photomultiplier as a function of the applied overvoltage and operation temperature is studied. The data are modeled by assuming that dark current is caused by current pulses triggered by events of diffusion of single minority carriers injected from the peripheral boundaries of the active area depletion layer and by thermal emission of carriers from Shockley–Read–Hall defects in the active area depletion layer.
ABSTRACT The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel pixelated photon detector able to detect s... more ABSTRACT The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel pixelated photon detector able to detect single photon arrival with good timing resolution and high gain. In this work we present a complete study of the performances of different SiPMs produced by STMicroelectronics. Their potentialities and limits were identified using experimental measurements and electrical simulations performed both on single pixel and SiPM having up to ̃4000 pixels. SiPM was tested in different experiments such as photoluminescence emission measurement, lifetime measurement of semiconductor materials and light diffusion in highly scattering material in the near infrared spectrum showing its aptitude to replace PMT in those applications.
ABSTRACT This paper reports on the electrical characteristics of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) ... more ABSTRACT This paper reports on the electrical characteristics of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) with optimized optical trench technology. The SiPM arrays were characterized from single pixels up to the full 64×64 pixel device. The data clearly show a perfect scaling of the dark current with the pixel number, thus indicating an almost ideal insulation among the pixels in the whole voltage operating range.
Astroparticle, Particle and Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics Applications - Proceedings of the 9th Conference, 2006
A systematic investigation of radiation effects on a BICMOS technology manufactured by STM has be... more A systematic investigation of radiation effects on a BICMOS technology manufactured by STM has been undertaken. Bipolar transistors were irradiated by neutrons, C, Ar and Kr ions, and recently by electrons. Fast neutrons, as well as other types of particles, produce defects mainly by displacing silicon atoms from their lattice positions to interstitial locations, i.e. generating vacancy-interstitial pairs (the so-called
This paper is concerned with the analysis of the noise properties of NPN junction bipolar transis... more This paper is concerned with the analysis of the noise properties of NPN junction bipolar transistors fabricated in a monolithic technology. Such devices are part of a BiCMOS silicon on insulator process, whose suitability for radiation hard applications is being evaluated. A thorough noise characterization, including series and parallel contribution measurements, was performed in view of the design of high speed analog frontend electronics for radiation detectors. For this purpose, a method for optimizing the noise performances of charge measuring systems has been applied to the experimental data from single device characterization.
Astroparticle, Particle and Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics Applications - Proceedings of the 8th Conference, 2004
Bipolar transistors were irradiated by neutrons, ions, or by both of them. Fast neutrons, as well... more Bipolar transistors were irradiated by neutrons, ions, or by both of them. Fast neutrons, as well as other types of particles, produce defects, mainly by displacing silicon atoms from their lattice positions to interstitial locations, i.e. generating vacancy-interstitial pairs, the so-called Frenkel pairs. The experimental results indicate that the gain variation is linearly related to the non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL)
The characteristics of a new multidetector based on the use of Monolithic Silicon Telescopes are ... more The characteristics of a new multidetector based on the use of Monolithic Silicon Telescopes are presented. Using suitable ion implantation techniques, the DeltaE and residual energy stages of the telescopes have been integrated on a single Si chip, obtaining a typical thickness for the DeltaE stage of the order of 2mum.
Nuovo Cimento Della Societa Italiana Di Fisica C-Geophysics and Space Physics, 2007
AbstractDesign and characterization of a new generation of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPAD)... more AbstractDesign and characterization of a new generation of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) array, manufactured by ST-Microelectronics in Catania, Italy, are presented. Device performances, investigated in several experimental conditions and here reported, ...
We outline the possible applications of newly developed single photon avalanche detectors (SPAD) ... more We outline the possible applications of newly developed single photon avalanche detectors (SPAD) operating at low voltage and fabricated in silicon planar technology, reporting on tests done with scintillators. We envisage the integration of large arrays of identical sensors, employing a common read-out mode in order to achieve a high resolution and high sensitivity solid state photomultiplier. The applications of
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
Radiation damage in silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) caused by exposure to 60Co γ-rays is experime... more Radiation damage in silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) caused by exposure to 60Co γ-rays is experimentally evaluated and discussed. SiPM devices were irradiated to doses up to 9.4 kGy. Dark current, dark count rate, gain, single photon counting capability, and cross-talk probability among SiPM pixels are evaluated as a function of irradiation dose.
ABSTRACT This paper describes a silicon photomultiplier device architecture achieving the ultimat... more ABSTRACT This paper describes a silicon photomultiplier device architecture achieving the ultimate physical limit of the dark count level. Two different structures are compared and the resulting dark count levels as a function of temperature and applied overvoltage are modelled by a 2D drift-diffusion device simulator. In the best structure, the concentration of minority carriers (electrons) approaching the depletion region from the anode side is below the concentration of holes approaching the depletion region from the cathode side. An improvement in the dark count level of a factor 50 is experimentally found, close to the ultimate physical limit.
We electrically and optically tested both single pixels and complete arrays of Silicon Photomulti... more We electrically and optically tested both single pixels and complete arrays of Silicon Photomultipliers, from 5×5 to 64x64, fabricated by STMicroelectronics. Single cell devices operation was studied as a function of the temperature from -25°C to 65°C varying the voltage over breakdown, from 5% up to 20% of the breakdown voltage. Optical characterization was performed using a laser at 659
ABSTRACT A novel Si-based detector, having a low noise and a high sensitivity, up to a single pho... more ABSTRACT A novel Si-based detector, having a low noise and a high sensitivity, up to a single photon detection, was used for a biosensor application. It is a Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), a device formed by avalanche diodes operating in Geiger mode, in parallel connections. Arrays with different dimensions were electro-optically characterized (5×5; 10×10 and 20×20 pixels) in order to identify the best geometry to be used in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, for our purposes. The SiPM array was used to study both traditional and innovative fluorophores. CY5 was chosen as "reference" marker. It has an absorption peak at 649 nm and an emission peak at 670 nm. Ru(bpy)3[Cl]2 was identified as innovative fluorophore, since it has absorption and emission peaks at 455 and 630 nm, respectively. Measurements were carried out in both functional regimes: continuous and pulsed. Emission spectra in the range 550-750 nm were measured with both traditional photomultipliers tubes (PMT) and SiPM operating at room temperature in continuous mode. More interestingly, fluorophore lifetimes were monitored showing that SiPM can measure lifetimes as short at 1 ns (CY5 lifetime), well below the lowest PMT limit (23 ns). Ru(bpy)3[Cl]2 lifetime characterization was performed with both PMT and SiPM (being in the hundreds of ns range), as a function of the solvent and after deposition and drying on glass substrates.
2010 Proceedings of the European Solid State Device Research Conference, 2010
Silicon photomultipliers are nowadays considered a promising alternative to conventional vacuum t... more Silicon photomultipliers are nowadays considered a promising alternative to conventional vacuum tube photomultipliers. The physical mechanisms operating in the device need to be fully explored and modeled to understand the device operational limits and possibilities. In this work we study the dark current behavior of the pixels forming the Si photomultiplier as a function of the applied overvoltage and operation
ABSTRACT The dark current behavior of the pixels forming the Si photomultiplier as a function of ... more ABSTRACT The dark current behavior of the pixels forming the Si photomultiplier as a function of the applied overvoltage and operation temperature is studied. The data are modeled by assuming that dark current is caused by current pulses triggered by events of diffusion of single minority carriers injected from the peripheral boundaries of the active area depletion layer and by thermal emission of carriers from Shockley–Read–Hall defects in the active area depletion layer.
ABSTRACT The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel pixelated photon detector able to detect s... more ABSTRACT The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel pixelated photon detector able to detect single photon arrival with good timing resolution and high gain. In this work we present a complete study of the performances of different SiPMs produced by STMicroelectronics. Their potentialities and limits were identified using experimental measurements and electrical simulations performed both on single pixel and SiPM having up to ̃4000 pixels. SiPM was tested in different experiments such as photoluminescence emission measurement, lifetime measurement of semiconductor materials and light diffusion in highly scattering material in the near infrared spectrum showing its aptitude to replace PMT in those applications.
ABSTRACT This paper reports on the electrical characteristics of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) ... more ABSTRACT This paper reports on the electrical characteristics of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) with optimized optical trench technology. The SiPM arrays were characterized from single pixels up to the full 64×64 pixel device. The data clearly show a perfect scaling of the dark current with the pixel number, thus indicating an almost ideal insulation among the pixels in the whole voltage operating range.
Astroparticle, Particle and Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics Applications - Proceedings of the 9th Conference, 2006
A systematic investigation of radiation effects on a BICMOS technology manufactured by STM has be... more A systematic investigation of radiation effects on a BICMOS technology manufactured by STM has been undertaken. Bipolar transistors were irradiated by neutrons, C, Ar and Kr ions, and recently by electrons. Fast neutrons, as well as other types of particles, produce defects mainly by displacing silicon atoms from their lattice positions to interstitial locations, i.e. generating vacancy-interstitial pairs (the so-called
This paper is concerned with the analysis of the noise properties of NPN junction bipolar transis... more This paper is concerned with the analysis of the noise properties of NPN junction bipolar transistors fabricated in a monolithic technology. Such devices are part of a BiCMOS silicon on insulator process, whose suitability for radiation hard applications is being evaluated. A thorough noise characterization, including series and parallel contribution measurements, was performed in view of the design of high speed analog frontend electronics for radiation detectors. For this purpose, a method for optimizing the noise performances of charge measuring systems has been applied to the experimental data from single device characterization.
Astroparticle, Particle and Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics Applications - Proceedings of the 8th Conference, 2004
Bipolar transistors were irradiated by neutrons, ions, or by both of them. Fast neutrons, as well... more Bipolar transistors were irradiated by neutrons, ions, or by both of them. Fast neutrons, as well as other types of particles, produce defects, mainly by displacing silicon atoms from their lattice positions to interstitial locations, i.e. generating vacancy-interstitial pairs, the so-called Frenkel pairs. The experimental results indicate that the gain variation is linearly related to the non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL)
The characteristics of a new multidetector based on the use of Monolithic Silicon Telescopes are ... more The characteristics of a new multidetector based on the use of Monolithic Silicon Telescopes are presented. Using suitable ion implantation techniques, the DeltaE and residual energy stages of the telescopes have been integrated on a single Si chip, obtaining a typical thickness for the DeltaE stage of the order of 2mum.
Nuovo Cimento Della Societa Italiana Di Fisica C-Geophysics and Space Physics, 2007
AbstractDesign and characterization of a new generation of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPAD)... more AbstractDesign and characterization of a new generation of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) array, manufactured by ST-Microelectronics in Catania, Italy, are presented. Device performances, investigated in several experimental conditions and here reported, ...
We outline the possible applications of newly developed single photon avalanche detectors (SPAD) ... more We outline the possible applications of newly developed single photon avalanche detectors (SPAD) operating at low voltage and fabricated in silicon planar technology, reporting on tests done with scintillators. We envisage the integration of large arrays of identical sensors, employing a common read-out mode in order to achieve a high resolution and high sensitivity solid state photomultiplier. The applications of
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
Radiation damage in silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) caused by exposure to 60Co γ-rays is experime... more Radiation damage in silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) caused by exposure to 60Co γ-rays is experimentally evaluated and discussed. SiPM devices were irradiated to doses up to 9.4 kGy. Dark current, dark count rate, gain, single photon counting capability, and cross-talk probability among SiPM pixels are evaluated as a function of irradiation dose.
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