Particle and Astroparticle Physics Seminar

Single Photon Detector Microsystems for Neutrino and High Energy Physics: 3D Digital Silicon Photomultiplier

Jean-François Pratte

Université de Sherbrooke

Many scientific experiments require single photon detection capability. For many years, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) were the detectors of choice, enabling important discoveries. But the venue of silicon-based single photon detectors changed drastically the landscape. Indeed, single photon avalanche diode (SPAD)-based detectors have the benefits of PMTs, while addressing important limitations such as immunity to magnetic field, ruggedness, improved detection efficiency, lower bias voltage, etc. The most common of these detectors are the silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), currently being deployed by square meters in radiation instrumentation apparatus for neutrino experiments, high energy physics and medical imaging such as positron emission tomography. But can we do better?

In this seminar, we will first review the fundamental of SPAD-based detector to understand better the pros and cons of SiPMs. This will lead to the solution of 3D Digital SPAD-based optoelectronic microsystems enabling tailored solution to various experiments. Two systems will be presented: 1) a low power large area detector for the next Enriched Xenon Observatory (nEXO), a multi-ton detector that will use isotopically enriched liquid Xenon to search for neutrinoless double beta decay; 2) an optoelectronic microsystems with single photon timing resolution below the 10 ps frontier for time-of-flight positron emission tomography and time imaging calorimeter for high energy physics.