Application of silicon photomultiplier’s model to the design of the front-end electronics

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 2019-08, Vol.936, p.539-541
• Main Authors: Baszczyk, M., Dorosz, P., Kucewicz, W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Silicon photomultiplier; SiPM model; Super-common gate amplifier
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.073

A designer of the front-end electronics for the silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) should take into account unique characteristics of this photodetector. The performance of the front-end should boost the qualities of the SiPM, including its timing performance and internal gain. That is why there is a need to create an electrical model of the SiPM, that in particular would emphasize on the equivalence capacitance of the detector and the shape of the output pulse produced in response to an incident photon [1]. This paper presents a simple model of the SiPM that was created based on the parameters of chosen photodetectors. Afterwards the model was applied to the design process of an integrated circuit (IC). After the fabrication process, the measurements of the IC with the SiPM attached, were compared with their simulation equivalents. The comparison was conducted in terms of the peaking time and the amplitude of the output pulses. The results presented a high level of matching between the simulation model and real behavior of the photodetector. These results can help in designing more advanced, multi-channel front-ends for the SiPMs. •The electrical model of a silicon photomultiplier was designed using Spice.•The model was applied to the design process of a front-end integrated circuit.•The simulation versus measurement comparison was performed for the IC with the SiPM.•Differences in the output pulse shape: 4–11% (amplitude), 4–15% (peaking time).