Characterization ofHamamatsu VUV4Silicon Photomultipliers using Argon Scintillation Light*

For the past several decades, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have reigned in noble element time projection chambers (TPCs) as the dominant photosensors in both large scale dark matter experiments and smaller scale test bed systems. Hamamatsu has recently developed VUV-sensitive silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) as alternative photosensors, which may also be attractive for deployment in TPCs due to their capability of directly detecting VUV scintillation light. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, two types of Hamamatsu VUV4 SiPMs, the S13370-6075 and the S13371-6050CQ-02, have been tested in a pure liquid argon environment to directly observe 128 nm argon scintillation light. In this presentation, I will discuss performance characteristics of these SiPMs such as afterpulsing, crosstalk, and photon detection efficiency.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

IM Release Number: LLNL-ABS-830066