Analysis of single-photon time resolution of FBK silicon photomultipliers

We characterized and analyzed an important feature of silicon photomultipliers: the single-photon time resolution (SPTR). We characterized the SPTR of new RGB (Red-Green-Blue) type Silicon Photomultipliers and SPADs produced at FBK (Trento, Italy), studying its main limiting factors. We compared time resolution of 1 x 1 mm(2) and 3 x 3 mm(2) SiPMs and a single SiPM cell (i.e. a SPAD with integrated passive-quenching), employing a mode-locked pulsed laser with 2-ps wide pulses. We estimated the contribution of front-end electronic-noise, of cell-to-cell uniformity, and intrinsic cell time-resolution. At a single-cell level, we compared the results obtained with different layouts. With a circular cell with a top metallization covering part of the edge and enhancing the signal extraction, we reached similar to 20 ps FWHM of time resolution. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.