Description
Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are now widely used in high-energy physics. They are popular because of their small size, their capability to detect single-photons, their insensitivity to magnetic fields, and their low radioactivity. It is, however, challenging to achieve high photon detection efficiencies in the UV and VUV. A feature that is very much desired in liquid Argon and Xenon detectors. Achieving good UV sensitivity is an inherent problem with any silicon-based photon detector. Compound III-V semiconductors like GaN or AlGaN, on the other hand, exhibit good UV sensitivity. Also, their spectral response can be tuned to meet the needs of a specific application. Is it thus feasible to build a GaN or AlGaN photon detector that uses the SiPM concept?
To find out, we develop GaN and AlGaN photodiodes and test the electrical and optical characteristics of single cells operated in Geigermode. In this talk, I present our AlGaN structures and their characteristics.
| Funding information | Department of Energy |
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