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Silicon Photomultipliers - High Gain APDs
SensL offers the world's first direct replacement for linear Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs). The SensL Silicon Photomultiplier is based on a new and novel silicon structure optimised for low light sensing over a large area. The silicon photomultiplier combines the high gain (106) of PMTs with the form factor, low voltage (<50V) and mechanical robustness of silicon APDs. It is the ideal solution for low light sensing OEMs striving to design portable, smaller and lower cost systems. This novel concept is also revolutionising the sensor technology used in all radiation detection and scintillator based sensing applications, especially Nuclear Medicine and High Energy Physics.
Please follow this link to access a series of Technical and Application Notes about the SPM family.
The Silicon Photomultiplier Concept
The Silicon Photomultiplier (SPM) technique connects arrays of SensL's core CMOS compatible photon counting (Geiger mode) photodiodes together in parallel, each with an integrated quench circuit 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 which is proportional to the number of photodiodes detecting a photon at any moment in time, which in turn is proportional to the incident photon flux or light intensity (i.e. similar to an APD operating in avalanche or linear mode). At 106 the total sensor gain is significantly higher than that of a normal APD (~100).This novel device combines the main advantages and benefits of 'normal' silicon APDs (size, low voltage operation, robustness) with the main advantages of PMTs (i.e. high gain, gain stability) in a single silicon device. These SPM pixels are used by SensL to create a range of products that are designed and optimized to replace Analog PMTs, whether in the lab or for OEMs, in all low light detection applications.
Note on Linear/Analog Mode: Linear or Analog mode of operation for light detectors implies a linear output signal where the amplitude of the output (voltage or current) is proportional to the incident light. Examples of such sensors include normal photodiodes (gain = 1), silicon APDs (gain ~ 100, Photomultipliers - PMTs and Silicon Photomultipliers (from SensL) (gain ~ 106) Typical external circuitry includes A/D converters preamplifier/ transimpedance amplifiers or signal integrators.
SPMMicro (and formerly known as SPMScint) - Low Cost High Gain APD
The SPMMicro (and the formerly known as SPMScint) series is a High Gain APD and encapsulates SensL's world-leading APD technology in a variety of miniature, easy to use, low cost packages. The SPMMicro detector series is suitable for applications requiring high sensitivity, low noise detection in the visible to near IR range. The SPMMicro series is a solid-state detector sensitive to single photons. It combines high gain and quantum efficiency characteristics comparable to Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) detectors with the additional benefits of silicon technology such as compact size, magnetic field insensitivity, low operating voltage, robustness, and tolerance to overexposure.
SPMMini - High Performance High Gain APD
The SPMMini is the first solid state alternative to the long established Photomultiplier Tube (PMT). It combines the high gain (106) and high quantum efficiency of the PMT with the well appreciated benefits of silicon including size, low operating voltage, robustness, reliability, magnetic field insensitivity, tolerance of excess/ambient light, and suitability for miniaturization. In addition, the detector has high signal to noise and fast timing properties.
SPMPlus - Large Area High Gain APD
The SPMPlus is a large area version of SensL's SPM detectors incorporating an array of individual Silicon Photomultiplier pixels tiled together using a novel packaging concept. The output of the tiles are summed together resulting in a sensor with a large active area - the first silicon alternative for Large Area PMT. The detector is packaged in a format suitable for scintillator coupling or free space / fluorescence applications and is available with appropriate interface / preamplifier electronics. The first version has a total active area of 1.3cm x 1.3cm but the design is flexible and customizable to customer defined active size and performance.
SPMArray - Position Sensitive/Multi Anode High Gain APD
SensL's SPMArray is the first commercially available, solid-state, large array detector based on silicon photomultiplier technology. It will be of particular interest to developers of detector systems for applications such as PET, Gamma Camera, and Radiation Detection for medical and security purposes and to those working with fluorescence applications requiring very sensitive detector arrays. While the standard version has 16 channels (each 3mm x 3mm) and a total area of 1.3cm x 1.3cm, the design is flexible and can be customized in 1D and 2D array formats depending on application requirements.