Performance of silicon PIN photodiodes at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields

TL;DR

This study evaluates a silicon PIN photodiode's performance at cryogenic temperatures and high magnetic fields, demonstrating its robustness with minor response changes primarily due to electron trajectory alterations.

Contribution

The paper provides experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations showing the detector's stable performance under extreme conditions, highlighting the effects of magnetic fields on electron trajectories.

Findings

Detector maintains good performance at 10 K and 11 T

Energy resolution decreases by 30-50% in high magnetic fields

Trajectory changes due to magnetic fields affect scattering, not intrinsic detector performance

Abstract

The performance of a Si PIN diode (type Hamamatsu S3590-06) as an energy sen- sitive detector operating at cryogenic temperatures (~10 K) and in magnetic fields up to 11 T was investigated, using a 207Bi conversion electron source. It was found that the detector still performs well under these conditions, with small changes in the response function being observed in high magnetic fields, e.g. a 30% to 50% decrease in energy resolution. A GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation showed that the observed effects are mainly due to the modified trajectories of the electrons due to the influence of the magnetic field, which changes the scattering conditions, rather than to intrinsic changes of the performance of the detector itself.