Radiation damage on Silicon Photomultipliers from ionizing and non-ionizing radiation of low-earth orbit operations

TL;DR

This study evaluates how ionizing and non-ionizing radiation affect Silicon Photomultipliers used in space, aiming to identify design features that enhance radiation tolerance for future spaceborne detectors.

Contribution

The paper compares different process and layout variations of SiPMs to identify features that improve radiation resistance, guiding the development of more durable space detectors.

Findings

Certain SiPM designs show reduced performance degradation after irradiation.

Proton and X-ray irradiation effects vary with SiPM layout and process.

Recommendations for next-generation radiation-tolerant SiPMs are provided.

Abstract

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are single photon detectors that gained increasing interest in many applications as an alternative to photomultiplier tubes. In particular in the field of space experiments, where volume, weight and power consumption are a major constraint, their advantages like compactness, ruggedness, and their potential to achieve high quantum efficiency from UV to NIR, makes them ideal candidates for spaceborne, low photon flux detectors. During space missions however, SiPMs are usually exposed to high levels of radiation, both ionizing and non-ionizing, which can deteriorate the performance of these detectors over time. The goal of this work is to compare process and layout variation of SiPMs in terms of their radiation damage effects to identify the features that helps reducing the deterioration of the performance and develop the next generation of more radiation tolerant detectors. To do this we irradiated with protons and X-rays several NUV-HD SiPMs with small area (single microcell, 0.2x0.2 mm2 and 1x1 mm2) produced in FBK. We performed online current-voltage measurements right after each irradiation step and a complete functional characterization before and after irradiation. We compare the results and show the most promising variations for future production of SiPMs for space applications.