Single photon performance characterisation of a Generation I Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetector

TL;DR

This study characterizes the single photon detection performance of a Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetector, demonstrating its fast timing, high gain, and spatial resolution capabilities suitable for neutrino experiments.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed performance metrics of a Generation I LAPPD, including transit time spread, gain, and spatial resolution, validating its suitability for large-scale neutrino detectors.

Findings

Transit time spread less than 70 ps

Single photoelectron gain exceeds 10^6

Spatial resolution on the order of millimeters

Abstract

The single photoelectron performance characteristics of a Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetector (LAPPD) were studied using a picosecond optical laser source. We verify that the LAPPD is capable of achieving transit time spreads of less than 70 ps and spatial resolutions on the order of millimetres when illuminated with single photons. Isolation of the single photoelectron peak is easily possible in the pulse height distribution and the mean single photoelectron gain is measured to be greater than $10^{6}$ with gains above $10^{7}$ possible in certain voltage configurations. We judge the performance of the LAPPD sufficient for application in large-scale water or scintillator-based neutrino experiments, with additional work required to develop the digital signal processing algorithms necessary for processing photon hits in high photon occupancy environments.