Modelling a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) as a signal source for optimum front-end design

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) have proven to be very attractive devices for low-energy photon detection. Thanks to their high gain and excellent timing resolution, they compare favourably to photomultiplier tubes (PMT) in many applications. Their electrical characteristics have to be taken into account to properly design the front-end electronics. Here, an electrical model of the SiPM is defined and an extraction procedure for the parameters involved in this model is proposed, based on suitable measurements performed on the real detector. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.