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Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) & Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPC)
The silicon photomultiplier, which is also referred to as a multi-pixel photon counter, uses the technique whereby an array of CMOS compatible photon counting (Geiger mode) photodiodes, each with an integrated quench circuit, are connected together in parallel on a single piece of silicon. An incident photon on any photodiode produces a pulse of current at the sensor output. The total output is the sum of all the individual pulses of current from each photodiode detecting a photon at a moment in time. The output current is thus proportional to the incident photon flux. At one million, the total SiPM gain is significantly higher than that of a normal APD which is typically near 100. This novel device combines the main advantages of conventional silicon APDs — namely small size, low voltage operation, and robustness — with the main advantages of PMTs, namely high gain and stability. Listed below are some of the most sophisticated SiPMs and MPPCs available today including a first-of-its-kind 16 element SiPM from SensL.
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Hamamatsu S10362 Series
This series of new MPPCs from Hamamatsu is available in configurations of 100 pixels up to 1600 pixels. They are small, high gain, Geiger mode APDs that have excellent time resolution and photon detection efficiency. They find uses in biomedical fluorescence detection, fluorescence lifetime measurements, confocal microscopes, PET, SPECT, and high energy physics.
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SensL SPMPlus
This high signal to noise ratio, large area SiPM utilizes 3640 x 16 microcells to achieve a gain in excess of a million while operating at a bias of less than 30V. It is ideal for low light detection applications such as SPECT, gamma cameras, and radiation detection requiring large detector sizes.
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SensL SPMArray
This position sensitive / multianode silicon photomultiplier array is the first commercially available, solid-state,
large array detector based on silicon photomultiplier technology. The device has 16 elements arranged as a 4 x 4 array and operates at a 30V bias. Its fast rise time makes it well-suited for nuclear medicine, high energy physics and x-ray detection.
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