Responsivity measurements of N-on-P and P-on-N silicon photomultipliers in the continuous wave regime

We report the electrical and optical comparison, in continuous wave regime, of two novel classes of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) fabricated in planar technology on silicon P-type and N-type substrate respectively. Responsivity measurements have been performed with an incident optical power from tenths of picowatts to hundreds of nanowatts and on a broad spectrum, ranging from ultraviolet to near infrared (340-820 nm). For both classes of investigated SiPMs, responsivity shows flat response versus the optical incident power, when a preset overvoltage and wavelength is applied . More in detail, this linear behavior extends up to about 10 nW for lower overvoltages, while a shrink is observed when the reverse bias voltage increases. With regards to our responsivity measurements, carried out in the abovementioned spectral range, we have found a peak around 669 nm for the N-on-P and a peak at 417 nm for the P-on-N SiPM. A physical explanation of the all experimental results is also provided in the paper.

[1]  C. Piemonte.  A new Silicon Photomultiplier structure for blue light detection , 2006 .

[2]  A. Golovin,et al.  First results of scintillator readout with silicon photomultiplier , 2004 .

[3]  N Gisin,et al.  23 25 v 1 [ qu an tph ] 1 6 Ju l 2 00 7 SiPM used as fast Photon-Counting Module and for Multiphoton Detection , 2008 .

[4]  Martin Wolf,et al.  A new multichannel near infrared spectrophotometry system for functional studies of the brain in adults and neonates. , 2005, Optics express.

[5]  C. Cheikali,et al.  Electro-optical characterization of SiPM: A comparative study , 2009 .

[6]  R. Popovic,et al.  Low-noise silicon avalanche photodiodes fabricated in conventional CMOS technologies , 2002 .

[7]  L. Cosentino,et al.  Characterization of a Novel 100-Channel Silicon Photomultiplier—Part I: Noise , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[8]  Maurizio Boscardin,et al.  Single photon timing resolution and detection efficiency of the IRST silicon photo-multipliers , 2007 .

[9]  A. Tosi,et al.  Principles and features of Single Photon Avalanche Diode Arrays , 2007 .

[10]  S. Cherry,et al.  Application of Silicon Photomultipliers to Positron Emission Tomography , 2011, Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

[11]  D. Renker.  Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes, history, properties and problems , 2006 .

[12]  L. Cosentino,et al.  Silicon Photomultiplier Technology at STMicroelectronics , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[13]  B. Dolgosheina,et al.  Status report on silicon photomultiplier development and its applications $ , 2006 .

[14]  V. Saveliev,et al.  Novel type of avalanche photodetector with Geiger mode operation , 2004 .

[15]  L. A. Filatov,et al.  Silicon photomultiplier and its possible applications , 2003 .

[16]  Chunguang Jin,et al.  Investigation of spectral interferences on the accuracy of broadband CW-NIRS tissue SO2 determination , 2010, Biomedical optics express.

[17]  Zygmunt Gryczynski,et al.  Multi-wavelength immunoassays using surface plasmon-coupled emission. , 2004, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[18]  M. Nitzan,et al.  The measurement of oxygen saturation in arterial and venous blood , 2008, IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine.

[19]  Hans-Guenther Moser,et al.  Development of backside illuminated SiPM at the MPI semiconductor laboratory , 2006 .

[20]  L. Cosentino,et al.  Characterization of a Novel 100-Channel Silicon Photomultiplier—Part II: Charge and Time , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[21]  Davide Contini,et al.  Multichannel time-resolved tissue oximeter for functional imaging of the brain , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[22]  Riccardo de Asmundis,et al.  Silicon Photo Multipliers Detectors Operating in Geiger Regime: an Unlimited Device for Future Applications , 2011 .

[23]  Jelena Ninković.  Recent developments in silicon photomultipliers , 2007 .

[24]  M. Albrow,et al.  Electro-Optical Performances of p-on-n and n-on-p Silicon Photomultipliers , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[25]  A. Dragone,et al.  Electrical Characterization of Silicon Photo-Multiplier Detectors for Optimal Front-End Design , 2006, 2006 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record.

[26]  Zisis Papandreou,et al.  Comparison of a silicon photomultiplier to a traditional vacuum photomultiplier , 2005 .

[27]  Katsuyuki Yamamoto,et al.  Optical imaging instrument for muscle oxygenation based on spatially resolved spectroscopy. , 2008, Optics express.

[28]  George Loudos,et al.  Initial results on SiPMs performance for use in medical imaging , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Imaging Systems and Techniques.

[29]  Massimo Mazzillo,et al.  Timing Performances of Large Area Silicon Photomultipliers Fabricated at STMicroelectronics , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[30]  Massimo Mazzillo,et al.  Extensive electrical model of large area silicon photomultipliers , 2011 .

[31]  R. Mirzoyan,et al.  Large area silicon photomultipliers : Performance and applications , 2006 .

[32]  L. Cosentino,et al.  Quantum Detection Efficiency in Geiger Mode Avalanche Photodiodes , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[33]  Kwang I. Suh,et al.  Instrumentation and calibration protocol for a continuous wave near infrared hemoximeter , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[34]  Massimiliano Belluso,et al.  Silicon photomultipliers for nuclear medical imaging applications , 2008, Photonics Europe.