Recently developed 15 um, 20 um, 25 um and 30 um cell size Hamamatsu were irradiated with reactor neutrons at JSI (Ljubljana) up to 2×1014 n/cm^2 (1 MeV equivalent). The parameters of new and irradiated SiPMs were studied using pulsed light illumination. The effects of the neutron radiation on breakdown voltage, signal amplitude, dark current and noise for these devices are shown and discussed.
Radiation damage to a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), as occurs during the lifetime of the planned HGCAL detector, increases the dark current and degrades the signal to noise (S/N) separation and thus the minimum ionizing particles (MIP) detection efficiency. To investigate this, a system consisting of a plastic scintillator tile directly coupled to a SiPM is used to detect the MIP from a...
Background:
Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detectors are indispensable for particle identification in experiments such as LHCb and Belle II, including their planned high-luminosity upgrades. These systems require photon sensors that combine high detection efficiency, precise timing, and robustness in magnetic fields. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) meet these criteria due to their...
In the context of the ALICE 3 upgrade planned for LHC Run 5, a proximity-focusing Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector for charged particle identification is foreseen. It uses aerogel with a refractive index of 1.03 as the Cherenkov radiator and a photodetector surface based on Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays. To improve charged-particle timing, the integration of a thin,...
The next-generation KOTO II experiment at J-PARC will operate at significantly higher beam intensities than its predecessor, requiring detector upgrades to maintain the stringent background suppression necessary for the search for ultra-rare $K_L \to \pi^0 \nu \bar{\nu}$ decay. One of the most critical components is the beam-hole photon veto (BHPV), which must efficiently detect the two...
Dual-readout calorimetry is one of the technologies of interest for the next generation of leptonic colliders such as FCC-ee. By simultaneously detecting scintillation and Cherenkov signals, it promises a jet energy resolution of ≈3–4% at 90 GeV and represents the baseline solution within the IDEA detector concept. The HiDRa (Highly Granular Dual-Readout Calorimeter) demonstrator represents an...
Photon-to-Digital Converters (PDCs), or digital SiPMs, are a new generation of single-photon sensors that overcome the intrinsic limitations of conventional analog SiPMs. By digitizing the output of individual SPADs directly on-chip, PDCs eliminate the need for amplification chains and external ADCs, while providing excellent timing resolution, wide dynamic range, simplified data processing,...
Single Avalanche Photo Diodes (SPADs) have gained significant traction across diverse fields such as medical imaging, quantum communication, and time-of-flight measurements, including LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). This naturally extends to applications in fundamental research, where single photon detection, low noise characteristics, and superior timing resolution are key.
An optimized...
In the framework of a 2022 PRIN Project a new system for computed tomography based on a Timepix4 sensor coupled with CdTe semiconductor has been developed in collaboration between the Department of Physics of the University of Ferrara and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the Univesity of Bologna.
A small area sensor with 512x448 pixels of 55 micron size each onstitutes an array of...
Hyper-Kamiokande will deploy about 3,600 3-inch PMTs in its outer detector to veto cosmic-ray backgrounds and improve event classification. Each PMT will be paired with a wavelength-shifting plate to increase the active photon-collection area. Two candidate designs, both with waterproof casings, are currently being evaluated through coordinated measurements across several laboratories. This...
Plastic scintillating fiber trackers read out by Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a promising alternative to silicon trackers for space experiments. This technology combines the compactness and low power consumption of SiPMs with the low material budget of plastic scintillators.
NUSES is a satellite mission, currently under construction, aiming to test innovative observational and...
This work presents the implementation and the preliminary tests of the Multi-channel Integrated Zone-sampling Analogue-memory based Readout (MIZAR) ASIC. Developed using commercial 65 nm CMOS technology, the MIZAR ASIC is designed as part of the Cherenkov camera for the POEMMA Balloon with Radio (PBR) mission. The goal of the Cherenkov camera is to detect direct Cherenkov signals produced by...
DENEB is a 1024-channel mixed-signal ASIC under development at INFN in 110 nm CMOS technology for the readout of SiPM matrices across a wide temperature range (77–300 K). It is designed for GRAIN, a sub-detector of SAND at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Near Detector facility (FNAL, USA). GRAIN is an active target consisting of a liquid-argon cryostat instrumented with cameras...
The core electronics in the LHCb Calorimeter Detector are intended to measure the energy and time of arrival (ToA) of particles using two different ASICs (ICECAL65 and SPIDER, respectively). The expected radiation levels inside the detector have arisen the need to upgrade the design to a high-radiation resilient technology, such as TSMC65. This work presents the analog design of the ICECAL6, a...
The LHCb RICH system comprises two detectors, delivering excellent charged-hadron discrimination across the momentum ranges 2.6-60 GeV and 20-100 GeV respectively. Following its 2022 upgrade, the system employs more than 3000 Multi-anode Photomultiplier Tubes (MaPMTs) and operates at the full 40 MHz LHC bunch-crossing rate. Each of the 64 anodes of an MaPMT is digitised by a CLARO channel,...
Particle Identification (PID) will be crucial in Future Circular Colliders (FCC-ee) experiments for precision studies involving heavy-flavour particles in Z decays, as well as jet flavour tagging in the decays of Higgs, W, and top particles.
In this context, a novel Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector concept, named ARC (Array of RICH Cells), has been proposed.
The ARC detector is...
Targeted Radionuclide Therapy combined with diagnostic imaging (“theranostics”) requires radionuclides that can provide both therapeutic and imaging capabilities. The isotope of Silver (Ag-111), with its beta emission for therapy and gamma emission at 245 keV and 342 keV, represents a promising candidate for imaging applications. Its relatively high photon energies are outside conventional...
The demand for efficient, cost-effective, and stable scintillators drives the search for new materials. Halide Perovskite-inspired materials have recently gained significant interest. They are considered promising scintillators in medical and high-energy physics due to their excellent theoretical light yield, energy, and time resolution. They demonstrate good structural and environmental...
Very-high-energy gamma-ray astrophysics will experience a substantial enhancement in sensitivity through the capabilities of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), which will operate from two sites providing full-sky coverage. One candidate for the medium-sized telescope (MST) of CTAO southern site (CTAO-South) is the Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (SCT). The innovative design of...
We present a detailed investigation of the afterpulse effect in silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), using a dedicated structure with single-cell readout, which enables direct measurement of intrinsic device properties and observation of individual pulses also after irradiation.
Three independent analysis methods to quantify afterpulse induced events were developed and validated by Monte Carlo...
High-rate single-photon detection with excellent spatial and temporal precision is a critical requirement for next-generation imaging and particle physics experiments. To meet this demand, a novel detector has been developed based on a vacuum tube architecture that integrates a photocathode, a microchannel plate (MCP), and a Timepix4 CMOS ASIC as the readout anode. The system supports...
The Water Cherenkov Test Experiment (WCTE) at CERN is designed to test various technologies and techniques related to water Cherenkov detectors, which may later be implemented in the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment. WCTE consists of 97 multi-PMT photosensors placed in a water tank (˜3.8 m in diameter, ˜3.6 m in height, total water mass ˜41 tonnes). Each multi-PMT contains nineteen 3” PMTs and...
The Advanced Particle Astrophysics Telescope (APT) is a proposed space-based gamma-ray observatory for the MeV–TeV range. To validate its detector technologies, the Antarctic Demonstrator for APT (ADAPT) is being developed for a balloon flight during the 2026–2027 Antarctic summer. Its core consists of an Imaging CsI Calorimeter (ICC) and a four-layer scintillating fiber tracker...
n=1 two-dimensional (2D) perovskites display narrow absorption due to their excitonic nature and quantum-confined structure. They offer a compelling route to filter-free, narrowband photodetection compared with broadband 3D counterparts. While halide mixing provides spectral tunability, it introduces severe phase segregation and energetic disorder. Current understanding of this phenomenon is...
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) have become essential photodetectors in a wide range of applications—from medical imaging to high-energy physics (HEP)—thanks to their excellent timing capabilities, compact form factor, and ease of integration. These demanding fields require continuous innovation, particularly in the development of next-generation photodetectors and advanced system integration...
Solid state photodetectors are broadly used in many areas of research, from high energy physics at colliders to low energy one for solid state studies. The DarkSide collaboration is going to explore a new direction by using large arrays of Silicon Photo Multipliers (SiPMs) for direct dark matter search, where Photo Multiplier Tubes (PMTs) have been used until now. The DarkSide-20k (DS-20k)...
RIPTIDE is a novel fast-neutron detector concept designed to determine both the energy and the direction of incident neutrons through indirect detection via neutron-proton elastic scattering. The converter medium consists of a cubic plastic scintillator (BC408, 60 × 60 × 60 mm³), where neutron-proton scattering events can generate recoil protons that produce scintillation light. This light is...
The LUCID-2 detector is the main luminometer of the ATLAS experiment and the only one able to provide a reliable luminosity determination in all beam configurations, luminosity ranges and at bunch-crossing level. The detector works through the production and detection of Cherenkov light in unusual ways: within the fused silica (quartz) window of the photomultipliers (PMTs) and in the core of...
The next generation of IACT cameras is moving towards SiPMs for their stability, robustness, and higher sensitivity compared to PMTs. The Advanced SiPM Camera (AdvCam) is based on Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) as photosensors and aims to deliver fully digital images downstream. It is designed to offer improved sensitivity, extended sensor durability, and intelligent data processing to more...
A high-resolution electromagnetic calorimeter typically consists of an array of inorganic scintillators in crystalline form (cells), read out by Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMTs) or Avalanche Photo-Diodes (APDs). An energy resolution of $\simeq 2\%$ at 1 GeV is considered excellent performance.
When a particle hits the scintillator, it loses energy through Bremsstrahlung and $e^+e^-$ pair...
Silicon sensors are widely employed in modern physics experiments for their excellent spatial resolution, fast response, and scalability, which makes them indispensable in both tracking detectors and photodetection systems. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are increasingly adopted for their excellent photon detection efficiency, fast timing, scalability, and insensitivity to magnetic fields,...
A monolithic silicon photo-multiplier, including 1024 micro-cells with a 30 $\mu$m pitch and a fill-factor of 50% and covering an overall area of about 1 mm$^2$, has been designed in a 110 nm CMOS image sensor technology. The SiPM, targeting applications with light detection in dual-readout (DR) calorimetry, takes advantage of an asynchronous, parallel counter to compute the number of hit...
Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) account for nearly 96% of the worldwide diagnosed skin cancers and are often surgically removed. However, when surgery is not feasible, radiotherapy is a valid alternative treatment. In radiotherapy, patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) relies on dose distribution measurements. Today the state-of-art technologies do not assure accurate measurements of the...
Hyper-Kamiokande, the successor to Super-Kamiokande, is a next-generation water Cherenkov detector scheduled to begin operation in 2028. It aims to measure neutrino oscillation parameters, such as the CP phase and mass ordering, with much higher precision benefiting from a fiducial volume 8.4 times larger than that of Super-Kamiokande. The newly developed 50-cm photomultiplier tube (PMT),...
The Upgrade II of the LHCb experiment poses new challenges for the Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detectors in terms of high radiation levels and increased photon density during the High-Lumi LHC phase. It will therefore be essential to redesign the optical layout of the detector, improving the resolution of the reconstructed Cherenkov angle, increasing spatial granularity, and introducing...
Abstract. Recently we developed an advanced radio frequency timer of keV energy electrons. It is based on a helical deflector, which performs circular sweep of keV electrons, by a means of 500 MHz radio frequency field. By converting a time distribution of incident electrons to a hit position distribution on a circle, this device achieves extremely precise timing. Streak Cameras, based on...
Wavelength-shifting (WLS) materials offer a scalable and affordable
approach to large-area photon detection. They absorb ultraviolet photons
and re-emit them at longer wavelengths, enabling efficient light
trapping by total internal reflection.
We present a compact detector module based on WLS tiles coupled to
silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The design exploits the geometry...
The dual-radiator Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (dRICH) detector of the ePIC experiment at the future Electron–Ion Collider (EIC) will employ silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) to detect Cherenkov photons. The photodetector plane will span about 3 m2 with 3x3 mm2 pixels, providing more than 300 000 readout channels—representing the first use of SiPMs for single-photon detection in a collider...
Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) had a transformational impact on experiments in high-energy and astrophysics. However, the SiPM is intrinsically limited in its response below 300 nm, a critical wavelength range for liquid noble scintillation detectors. We investigate AlGaN and GaN semiconductors, which have a tunable band gap and better sensitivity in the UV. With the availability of clean...
We present a Digital SiPM sensor chip which measures photon multiplicities at a rate of $\gtrsim10\mathrm{\,MHz}$, which has been fabricated using the $350\mathrm{\,nm}$ technology of the Fraunhofer IMS (Duisburg, Germany). The demonstrator chip contains a matrix of $27\times24$ pixels with SPADs of $\approx2400\mathrm{\,mm}^2$ size. Photon hits in the SPADs occurring during an externally...
ALCOR is a mixed-signal ASIC developed for the readout of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) sensors in the ePIC dual-radiator RICH (dRICH) detector at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The current design integrates 32 channels in an 8x4 pixel array, providing high-precision timestamping with single-photon sensitivity, data-push architecture and fully digital output. Each channel features an...
Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), with their compact form factor, high gain, and fast response, are enabling a new generation of fast-timing detectors across several fields and applications. Scaling up these systems requires readout electronics that combine high performance, low power consumption and dense integration. We present FastIC+, a custom ASIC developed for fast-timing applications,...
The photomultiplier tube (PMT) based on microchannel plates (MCP) is one of the fastest types of the single photon detectors. When coupled with a Cherenkov radiator it allows the time of a charged particle to be measured with an accuracy of order of 10 ps. Such a time resolution may be of interest for future high-energy physics experiments.
One of the main limitations of MCP-PMTs is the short...
The Hyper-Kamiokande (HK) is a next-generation water Cherenkov detector aiming to study a wide range of physics targets such as neutrino oscillations, neutrino astronomy, and nucleon decays. HK is under construction and is scheduled to start operation in 2028.
Approximately 20,000 newly designed 50 cm diameter PMTs manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., R12860, will cover the inner...
Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are used in Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), to detect Cherenkov light produced by air showers induced by gamma rays. In the PMTs, accelerated photoelectrons occasionally collide with residual gas inside the tube, producing positive ions that strike the photocathode and generate additional electrons. This ion feedback produces afterpulses, which...
Owing to their single photon sensitivity and fast rise time, micro-channel-plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs) make good candidates as photon detectors for the Time Of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light detector (TORCH) that is proposed as part of the phase two upgrade of the LHCb experiment.
The TORCH detector has a target time resolution per photon of approximately 70ps, required to...
This study presents a comprehensive effort to understand the timing and charge sharing in MCP PMTs. While we have investigated in detail - through on-the-bench tests and by modeling the response - the Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPD) of Generation II, developed by Incom Inc., we have also compared our model predictions with our past studies of Burle/Photonis and Photek MCP PMTs. ...
For the High-Luminosity phase of the LHC (HL-LHC), the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment is undergoing an upgrade with the addition of the new MIP Timing Detector (MTD), designed to measure the arrival time of charged particles with a precision of 30-60 ps. The time information from the MTD will help handle the expected ~200 concurrent interactions per bunch crossing (pileup) to preserve...
High-spatial resolution scintillator detectors can achieve very precise particle tracking capability, when owing to a very fine segmentation down to a few hundred micrometers.
However, the required granularity comes with the price of additional complexity in the detector manufacturing and construction that can make the scaling up to large volumes and masses rather prohibitive.
Moreover,...
The Taishan Antineutrino Observatory (TAO, also known as JUNO-TAO) is a satellite experiment of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO). Its central detector is equipped with 4024 customized silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) tiles, each featuring a dimension of 5cm * 5cm, covering nearly 10 m$^2$ of spherical surface area. Operated at -50 $^\circ$C with low-temperature liquid...
The CYGNO/INITIUM collaboration is developing a novel strategy for directional Dark Matter searches based on a gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC). The detector is optimized for the exploration of light (0.5–50 GeV) WIMPs-like particles and employs a He/CF₄ gas mixture at atmospheric pressure, sensitive to both spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions.
A key feature of the project...
The SiSMUV project (SiPM-based Space Monitor for UV-light) is devoted to the development of a compact, modular UV detector employing SiPM technology for space telescopes, designed to measure fluorescence and Cherenkov emissions generated by Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs).
SiSMUV incorporates state-of-the-art Hamamatsu SiPM matrices, low-power front-end electronics, and local...
The DarkSide-20k experiment, a next-generation direct dark matter search using a dual-phase liquid argon time projection chamber, requires highly sensitive and radiopure light detection systems. This talk will present the production workflow and quality assurance procedures for the SiPM-based photo detection units (PDUs), developed specifically for DarkSide-20k. Each PDU is composed of 16...
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline experiment for neutrino physics currently under construction in the US, aiming to measure neutrino oscillation parameters, search for beyond standard model physics and detect supernova neutrinos. DUNE will include a Near Detector (ND) and a Far Detector (FD), located 1300 km away from the ND and 1.5 km...
Detecting the deep VUV scintillation light from noble elements such as argon (128 nm) and xenon (178 nm) remains a major challenge in fully realizing the physics potential of modern dark matter and neutrino detectors. Existing direct detection technologies (cryo VUV SiPMs and PMTs) typically achieve efficiencies below 20%. In this talk, we present the first comprehensive characterization of...
Moving beyond the conventional paradigm of transparency in detection, the LiquidO collaboration proposes an innovative approach to particle detection. Developed in 2012 and unveiled at CERN in 2019, LiquidO introduces an opaque medium with a short scattering length that stochastically confines light to within centimetres of the point of energy deposition. This light—arising from Cherenkov...
The use of solution processable materials in direct ionising radiation photodetectors is currently an active research quest that is achieving exciting results. Devices based on Perovskites, Organic Semiconductors, Metal Organic Frameworks and Colloidal Quantum Dots have been demonstrated as efficient, inexpensive and easily processable sensing materials for Gamma, X-rays, Protons or Alpha...
Metal halide perovskites combine high optical absorption coefficient, bandgap tunability, and the use of heavy atoms, making them attractive for photodetectors across the visible and X-ray range. However, most demonstrations rely on solution processing, which presents challenges in terms of reproducibility, substrate compatibility, and large-area uniformity. Vapor-based methods provide a...
Wavelength-shifting photon detection systems (PDS) are critical components in noble-liquid detectors for high-energy physics and dark-matter searches. The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) scintillation from liquid argon (LAr, ~128 nm) and liquid xenon (LXe, ~175 nm) must be shifted to longer wavelengths to enable efficient detection with state-of-the-art photodetectors such as photomultiplier tubes...
CsPbCl3/Br3 inorganic perovskite are attracting an increasing interest in ultraviolet and visible photo-detection due to their superior intrinsic optoelectronic properties. In this study, a novel one-step magnetron sputtering technique was applied for fabricating CsPbCl3/Br3 polycrystalline films on flexible and glass substrates with interdigitated contacts. The photoconductive response of...
