The recent development and study of silicon photomultiplier

Recent developments and results from the study of a Silicon Solid State Photomultiplier (Si-PM) are presented. The basis of this new type of photodetector is a fine structure of microcells operating in the Geiger mode with an internal gain greater than 10(6). Common signal output allows for the detector to be operated in the proportional mode, and to reach a dynamic range of 1.5 x 10(3). Such photodetectors have shown single photon response at room temperature with a fast timing of similar to100ps. They are compact, robust and non-sensitive to magnetic fields. Results show the detection of low-intensity light in single photon mode and the detection of minimal ionizing particles using a scintillation the for hadron calorimetry. The silicon photomultiplier is suitable for wide application in scintillation calorimetry, medical application, etc. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.