Search

Electronics used for space applications (e.g. communication satellites) are susceptible to space weather, primarily consisting of electrons and protons. As more critical equipment is used in space, a comprehensive monitoring network is needed to mitigate risks associated with radiation damage. Compact detectors suited for this requirement have been too complicated or do not provide sufficient information. As the damage from electrons (e.g. total ionizing dose effects) is significantly different compared to protons (e.g. displacement damage effects), monitors that can provide unique measurements of the dose and/or spectral information for electrons and protons separately are necessary for mission assessment to determine strategies for maintaining function. Previously, we demonstrated that the Proton-Electron Discrimination Detector (PEDD) is space-compatible and can discriminate fast electrons from protons using a diphenylanthrecene (DPA) scintillator coupled to a CMOS silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). The SiPM has a temperature dependence, and a circuit has been developed to provide a stable response as a function of temperature. The PEDD detector is scheduled to participate on the RHEME experiment to be flown on the ISS, scheduled for launch in 2016.

Avalanche photodiodes (APD) manufactured at RMD are fabricated using deep diffusion processes, resulting in a thick reach-through APD with excellent performance characteristics. These include a high quantum efficiency (

Solid-state photomultipliers (SSPM) are high gain photodetectors composed of Geiger photodiodes (GPD) operating above device breakdown voltage. In scintillation based radiation detection applications, SSPMs fabricated using silicon (SiPMs, MPPCs, etc) provide a compact, low cost alternative to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), however, the high dark count rate due to its low band-gap (1.1eV) limits the signal-to-noise performance as the silicon SSPM is scaled to large areas. SSPMs fabricated in materials with a larger band-gap have the potential to surmount the performance limitations experienced by silicon. AlGaAs is a material that provides a bandgap from 1.55eV to 2.13 eV, depending on Al concentration. Using high Al concentration AlGaAs to engineer a wideband- gap (>2eV) SSPM is very desirable in terms of reducing dark noise, which promises better signal-to-noise performances when large detector areas is needed. This work describes the development of Geiger photodiodes (GPDs), the individual elements of a SSPM, fabricated in AlGaAs with 80% Al concentration. We present the design of the GPDs, the fabrication process, along with characterization data of fabricated GPD samples. To the best of our knowledge, we have demonstrated for the first time, a passively quenched Geiger photodiode in Al 0.8 Ga 0.2 As.

Exploration in nuclear physics may require extreme conditions, such as temperatures down to a few Kelvin, high magnetic fields of several Tesla, or the small physical dimensions of a few centimeters. As a standard technique for radiation detection using scintillation materials, it is desirable to develop photodetectors that can operate under these harsh conditions. Though photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have been used for most applications for readout of scintillation materials, they are bulky, highly susceptible to magnetic fields, and present a large heat load in cryogenic environments. Avalanche photodiodes are a reasonable alternative to PMTs in that they are extremely compact and less susceptible to magnetic fields. Avalanche photodiodes have been developed in a commercial CMOS process for operation at temperatures below 100 Kelvin. Here we present the overall operation of the photodiodes at 5 Kelvin. The diodes show a quantum efficiency of at least 30% at 532 nm at 5 Kelvin. At about 30 Kelvin, the diodes exhibit an internal resistive term, which generates a second breakdown point. The prototype diode shows a proportional response to the intensity of light pulses down to 150 detected photons with a hole to electron ionization ratio, k, of 2.3x10 -13 at 5 Kelvin. The properties of the photodiodes and the readout electronics will be discussed for general photon detection below 100 K.

High-energy, gamma-ray calorimetry typically employs large scintillation crystals coupled to photomultiplier tubes. These calorimeters are segmented to the limits associated with the costs of the crystals, photomultiplier tubes, and support electronics. A cost-effective means for construction of a calorimeter system is to use solid-state photomultipliers (SSPM) with front-end electronics, which is at least half the cost, but the SSPM must provide the necessary energy resolution defined by the physics goals. One experiment with plans to exploit this advantage is an upgrade to the PRIMEX experiment at Jefferson Laboratories. We have developed a large-area SSPM (1 cm × 1 cm) for readout of large scintillation crystals. As PbWO4 has excellent properties (small Moliere radius and radiation hard) for high-energy gamma-rays (>1 GeV) but low light yields (~150 photons/MeV at 0 °C), evaluation of the SSPM and support readout electronics with LaBr3 provides a measure of the device performance. Using the known detection efficiency and dark current of the SSPM, an excess noise factor associated with after pulsing and cross talk is determined. The contribution to the energy resolution from the detector module is calculated as

Solid-state photomultipliers (SSPM) are photodetectors composed of avalanche photodiode pixel arrays operating in Geiger mode (biased above diode breakdown voltage). They are built using CMOS technology and can be used in a variety of applications in high energy and nuclear physics, medical imaging and homeland security related areas. The high gain and low cost associated with the SSPM makes it an attractive alternative to existing photodetectors such as the photomultiplier tube (PMT). The capability of integrating CMOS on-chip readout circuitry on the same substrate as the SSPM also provides a compact and low-power-consumption solution to photodetector applications with stringent area and power requirements. The optical performance of the SSPM, specifically the detection and quantum efficiencies, can depend on the geometry and the doping profile associated with each photodiode pixel. The noise associated with the SSPM not only includes dark noise from each pixel, but also consists of excess noise terms due to after pulsing and inter-pixel cross talk. The magnitude of the excess noise terms can depend on biasing conditions, temperature, as well as pixel and inter-pixel dimensions. We present the optical and noise performance of SSPMs fabricated in a conventional CMOS process, and demonstrate the dependence of the SSPM performance on pixel/inter-pixel geometry, doping profile, temperature, as well as bias conditions. The continuing development of CMOS SSPM technology demonstrated here shows that low cost and high performance solid state photodetectors are viable solutions for many existing and future optical detection applications.