Development of a light tracker based on thin scintillating fibers and Silicon Photomultipliers for space application
We report on the development and characterization of a light and compact tracker based on thin scintillating fibers read out by Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), designed for application in space-borne detectors. Such a tracking system is characterized by low cost, low power consumption and mechanical robustness, offering an attractive alternative to silicon-based trackers. A few reduced-scale prototypes were assembled with different fiber diameters and readout configurations, and were tested using radioactive sources and beams of particles at the CERN-PS facility. A custom front-end board based on the Petiroc 2A ASIC was developed for charge and time readout, enabling detailed performance studies. We present the mechanical design, readout architecture, and calibration procedures, as well as laboratory and beam test results. The prototypes exhibit a high trigger efficiency of ∼ 98 % , a spatial resolution of approx. 300 μ m with 1 mm SiPM readout pitch and a timing resolution from about 370 to 470 ps , depending on the fiber diameter. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the use of scintillating fiber trackers with SiPM readout in space applications.
Authors
- G. Panzarini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2586-1021)
- F. Loparco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1173-5673)
- G. De Robertis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8261-6236)
- R. Pillera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3808-963X)
- F. Gargano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5055-6395)
- L. Lorusso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2549-4401)
- D. Serini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9754-6530)
- Pierpaolo Loizzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2404-760X)
- G. De Palma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5110-1445)
- F. Licciulli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6955-0321)
- Davide Cerasole (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2033-756X)
- M. N. Mazziotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9325-4672)
- L. Di Venere (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0703-824X)
- M. Giliberti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2835-2963)
- A. Liguori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4240-6362)
Institutions
- University of Trento (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari (IT)
- Polytechnic University of Bari (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
- Published
- 2025-10-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2025.171064
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.87