Date:  Wednesday 17 April 2019
Speaker:  Pietro Giampa (TRIUMF)
Title:  "Present and Future of Silicon Photo-Multiplier (SiPMs) for Precision-Physics and Commercial Applications"


Abstract:
Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) are devices capable of precisely detecting (counting and timing) single photons. 
With comparable gain to the classic Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMTs), but with a much lower power requirement, SiPMs 
are widely used in precision-physics by experiments measuring scintillation and Cherenkov light. Moreover, SiPMs 
have also a significant commercial application side, ranging from medical imaging, to LiDARs, and much more. 
In this talk, we will review the current state-of-the-art of SiPMs, with emphasis on a new physics-based model 
that fully characterizes SiPMs in different configurations. Furthermore, we will present the ongoing R&D program 
designed to optimize this technology for future precision-physics detectors aimed at searches beyond the Standard 
Model of Particle Physics. This R&D effort is two-fold: timing optimization by incorporating a digital readout 
directly on the devices (3DSiPMs) and counting optimization by enhancing the VUV photo-detection-efficiency above 
50% (100-200 nm).