Radiation damage study of SensL J-series silicon photomultipliers using 101.4 MeV protons

Ulyanov, A.; Murphy, David; Mangan, Joseph; Gupta, Viyas; Hajdas, W.; Faoite, Daithí de; Shortt, Brian; Hanlon, L.; McBreen, S.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2020.164203

Cited by 30 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The effects of SiPM radiation damage on the detector performance have been assessed in a follow-up study, where the same SiPMs were irradiated with 101.4 MeV protons [ 33 ]. Depending on orbit and mission lifetime, the SiPM dark current and noise can increase by orders of magnitude, increasing the power requirements and limiting the ability of the detector to detect low energy gamma rays.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balloon flight test of a CeBr3 detector with silicon photomultiplier readout

et al. 2021

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Recent advances in silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) technology and new scintillator materials allow for the creation of compact high-performance gamma-ray detectors which can be deployed on small low-cost satellites. A small number of such satellites can provide full sky coverage and complement, or in some cases replace the existing gamma-ray missions in detection of transient gamma-ray events. The aim of this study is to test gamma-ray detection using a novel commercially available CeBr3 scintillator combined with SiPM readout in a near-space environment and inform further technology development for a future space mission. A prototype gamma-ray detector was built using a CeBr3 scintillator and an array of 16 J-Series SiPMs by ON Semiconductor. SiPM readout was performed using SIPHRA, a radiation-tolerant low-power integrated circuit developed by IDEAS. The detector was flown as a piggyback payload on the Advanced Scintillator Compton Telescope balloon flight from Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility. The payload included the detector, a Raspberry Pi on-board computer, a custom power supply board, temperature and pressure sensors, a Global Navigation Satellite System receiver and a satellite modem. The balloon delivered the detector to 37 km altitude where its detection capabilities and readout were tested in the radiation-intense near-space environment. The detector demonstrated continuous operation during the 8-hour flight and after the landing. It performed spectral measurements in an energy range of 100 keV to 8 MeV and observed the 511 keV gamma-ray line arising from positron annihilation in the atmosphere with full width half maximum of 6.8%. During ascent and descent, the detector count rate peaked at an altitude of 16 km corresponding to the point of maximum radiation intensity in the atmosphere. Despite several engineering issues discovered after the flight test, the results of this study confirm the feasibility of using CeBr3 scintillator, SiPMs, and SIPHRA in future space missions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balloon flight test of a CeBr3 detector with silicon photomultiplier readout

et al. 2021

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“…The SiPMs at such a detector are exposed to proton particle radiation that causes an additional deviation in the breakdown voltage and an increase of the dark current [7,8]. Working at 1 V overvoltage can reduce the dark current by a factor of 20, compared to standard 3.6 V overvoltage, at a cost of increasing the SiPM sensitivity to the breakdown voltage variation [21]. Hence, the dark current can be reduced while the breakdown voltage variation is addressed using the proposed topology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral Enhancement of a SiPM Array-Based Radiation Detector

Harn

Osovizky²,

Kadmon³

et al. 2021

EPJ Web Conf.

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Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) have many advantages when used in radiation detectors. Low bias voltage, compactness and immunity to electromagnetic interference are among their prominent benefits. However, due to their small size, usually an array of SiPM components is required in order to cover the coupling surface area of a scintillator. Since the SiPM is a semiconductor, biased in a reversed voltage, gain variation and strong temperature dependence are introduced. As a result, SiPM-based detectors, particularly an array of SiPMs, undergo spectral signal to noise ratio reduction. This work studies the effect of the SiPM breakdown voltage variation on the obtained energy spectrum and proposes an electronic approach to overcome this technological drawback. This developed technology provides an adequate temperature-dependent, commonly distributed high bias voltage and an individual offset-voltage fine tuning that enables adjustment of all the SiPM components to their optimum operating points. Powerwise it is beneficial to operate SiPM at lower voltages, where undesirable gain variation is more dominant. The proposed solution enables working at lower bias voltages, which provides lower power consumption and better radiation hardness, while yielding an enhanced spectrum resolution. The proposed electronic approach enhances the obtained spectra, reducing the noise threshold by 16 % when working at 1 V overvoltage. Hence provides an enhanced signal to noise ratio over the traditional biasing methods.

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“…SiPMs are known to receive damage from proton radiation leading to an increase in operating current and detector noise. These effects were evaluated using a prototype of the GMOD detector irradiated with a proton beam [ 48 ]. After one year of operation in the ISS-like orbit, the detector is still expected to detect gamma rays with energy above 30 keV, which exceeds the mission requirement of 50 keV.…”

Section: Gmod — the Gamma-ray Modulementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a payload is seen as a significant advance over legacy instrumentation which typically relied on classical photomultiplier tube scintillator detection and discrete control and readout electronics. A prototype configuration of the payload was evaluated on a balloon flight [47] and used to test the radiation harness of the SiPMs [48].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A compact instrument for gamma-ray burst detection on a CubeSat platform I

et al. 2021

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The Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 (EIRSAT-1) is a 2U CubeSat being developed under ESA’s Fly Your Satellite! programme. The project has many aspects, which are primarily educational, but also include space qualification of new detector technologies for gamma-ray astronomy and the detection of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The Gamma-ray Module (GMOD), the main mission payload, is a small gamma-ray spectrometer comprising a 25 mm × 25 mm × 40 mm cerium bromide scintillator coupled to an array of 16 silicon photomultipliers. The readout is provided by IDE3380 (SIPHRA), a low-power and radiation tolerant readout ASIC. GMOD will detect gamma-rays and measure their energies in a range from tens of keV to a few MeV. Monte Carlo simulations were performed using the Medium Energy Gamma-ray Astronomy Library to evaluate GMOD’s capability for the detection of GRBs in low Earth orbit. The simulations used a detailed mass model of the full spacecraft derived from a very high-fidelity 3D CAD model. The sky-average effective area of GMOD on board EIRSAT-1 was found to be 10 cm2 at 120 keV. The instrument is expected to detect between 11 and 14 GRBs, at a significance greater than 10σ (and up to 32 at 5σ), during a nominal one-year mission. The shape of the scintillator in GMOD results in omni-directional sensitivity which allows for a nearly all-sky field of view.

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Radiation damage study of SensL J-series silicon photomultipliers using 101.4 MeV protons

Cited by 30 publications

References 25 publications

Balloon flight test of a CeBr3 detector with silicon photomultiplier readout

Balloon flight test of a CeBr3 detector with silicon photomultiplier readout

Spectral Enhancement of a SiPM Array-Based Radiation Detector

A compact instrument for gamma-ray burst detection on a CubeSat platform I

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