Cryogenic operation of neutron-irradiated silicon photomultiplier arrays up to 1e14 neq/cm^2

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Currás-Rivera, Esteban, Haefeli, Guido, Ronchetti, Federico
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917363115360256
author Currás-Rivera, Esteban
Haefeli, Guido
Ronchetti, Federico
author_facet Currás-Rivera, Esteban
Haefeli, Guido
Ronchetti, Federico
contents In the context of the Scintillating Fibre (SciFi) Tracker for the LHCb Upgrade 2, radiation-induced damage in silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) has been studied over a wide temperature range, from room temperature down to 100 K. With the LHCb detector Upgrade 1, installed during the LHC's Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) (2019-2021), the first large-scale SciFi tracker read out by multichannel silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) was constructed, installed, and has been operated ever since. A major challenge for the SciFi tracker is the neutron radiation at the SiPMs' location. At the end of the lifetime of the Upgrade 1 detector, the expected neutron fluence for the SiPMs will reach 6e11 neq/cm^2. Cryogenic operation is being investigated to mitigate even higher radiation-induced damage for Upgrade 2, where the total neutron fluence is expected to reach 3e12 neq/cm^2. A large set of custom SiPM arrays, varying in pixel size, electric field configuration, and doping implant concentration, developed by FBK and Hamamatsu, were tested after neutron irradiation. Characterisation was performed in a dedicated cryogenic test setup, where the operating temperature was varied over a wide range. Key performance parameters such as breakdown voltage, gain, dark count rate, optical crosstalk, and afterpulsing were characterised as functions of temperature, overvoltage, and neutron fluence. The result is a precise assessment of radiation damage for state-of-the-art technology from two leading SiPM manufacturers, allowing the results to be transferred to other SiPM applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_25478
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cryogenic operation of neutron-irradiated silicon photomultiplier arrays up to 1e14 neq/cm^2
Currás-Rivera, Esteban
Haefeli, Guido
Ronchetti, Federico
Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
In the context of the Scintillating Fibre (SciFi) Tracker for the LHCb Upgrade 2, radiation-induced damage in silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) has been studied over a wide temperature range, from room temperature down to 100 K. With the LHCb detector Upgrade 1, installed during the LHC's Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) (2019-2021), the first large-scale SciFi tracker read out by multichannel silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) was constructed, installed, and has been operated ever since. A major challenge for the SciFi tracker is the neutron radiation at the SiPMs' location. At the end of the lifetime of the Upgrade 1 detector, the expected neutron fluence for the SiPMs will reach 6e11 neq/cm^2. Cryogenic operation is being investigated to mitigate even higher radiation-induced damage for Upgrade 2, where the total neutron fluence is expected to reach 3e12 neq/cm^2. A large set of custom SiPM arrays, varying in pixel size, electric field configuration, and doping implant concentration, developed by FBK and Hamamatsu, were tested after neutron irradiation. Characterisation was performed in a dedicated cryogenic test setup, where the operating temperature was varied over a wide range. Key performance parameters such as breakdown voltage, gain, dark count rate, optical crosstalk, and afterpulsing were characterised as functions of temperature, overvoltage, and neutron fluence. The result is a precise assessment of radiation damage for state-of-the-art technology from two leading SiPM manufacturers, allowing the results to be transferred to other SiPM applications.
title Cryogenic operation of neutron-irradiated silicon photomultiplier arrays up to 1e14 neq/cm^2
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.25478