Assessment of the photodetection performance of different silicon photomultiplier technologies under irradiation with cold neutrons

Results are presented of the opto-electrical characterization of two analog and one digital SiPM arrays, produced by three different manufacturers (SensL, Hamamatsu, and Philips), before and after irradiation with cold neutrons (with a wavelength of 5 A) at the KWS-1 instrument of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany. Irradiation doses of up to 6×1012 n/cm2 were used. We assessed the neutron irradiation induced changes in the temperature dependent dark signal and breakdown behaviors, as well as changes in the photodetection efficiency of the Philips Digital Photon Counting (PDPC) array. We conclude that all three technologies could be used in Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) experiments.