Characterization of silicon photomultipliers with different structures

<ns5:p>Background Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are crucial devices in various photon-counting applications. They are mainly produced with two pixel structures, with deeply burned and surface pixel designs offering distinct advantages. This study investigates the impact of these structural differences on key parameters of two representative SiPMs: the MAPD-3NM-II (Zecotek Photonics) with a deeply burned structure and the MPPC S12572-010P (Hamamatsu Photonics) with a surface pixel structure. Method The performance of MAPD-3NM-II and MPPC S12572-010P was evaluated using multiple techniques. Breakdown voltage was determined using three different methods: I-V measurements, the Miller method, and the single photoelectron method. Temperature dependence was analyzed by measuring the breakdown voltage across a temperature range of 23°C to 43°C. Finally capacitance measurements were performed using a sinusoidal signal with constant amplitude and frequency, where determined using reference capacitance. Results The results from all three methods were consistent, yielding a breakdown voltage of 52.22±0.07 V for the MAPD-3NM-II and 68.08±0.10 V for the MPPC S12572-010P, within experimental uncertainties. The optimal operating voltage was determined as Ubr+4 V for the MAPD-3NM-II and Ubr+4.5 V for the MPPC S12572-010P. The temperature dependence of breakdown voltage was also investigated, revealing that the MAPD-3NM-II exhibited a lower temperature coefficient (51.32±0.44 mV/°C) compared to the MPPC S12572-010P (57.01±0.56 mV/°C). This indicates that the MAPD-3NM-II is more thermally stable. Capacitance measurements demonstrated that the MAPD-3NM-II exhibited significantly lower capacitance (155±12 pF) than the MPPC S12572-010P (294±26 pF). Conclusions This study provides a comparative analysis of two SiPMs with different pixel structures. The findings highlight the potential advantages of deeply burned pixel structures in terms of reduced capacitance and improved thermal stability. The lower capacitance of the MAPD-3NM-II suggests its suitability for large-area detector implementations. The results show that MAPD type photodiodes can be used in radiation detectors used in medicine and radiation monitoring systems.</ns5:p>