ANDESPix: A Digital SiPM for Muon Detectors

ANDESPix is a digital silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) ASIC designed to readout scintillating fibers with low light intensity, as part of a muon detector, following the same muon detection principle used for muon detectors at the Pierre Auger Observatory. Thereby, photons should be detected with very high time resolution (<100 ps) in order to identify impinging muons and their time of arrival (ToA) on the muon detector. In ANDESPix, each single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) has its own digital readout containing a time-to-digital converter (TDC). The zero suppressed digital readout allows to receive detailed spatial information of incoming photons.This may lead to better understanding of their nature and increased detector efficiency, as e.g.improved fiber alignment to the SiPM and improved detection of the impinging position along the scintillator bars of the muon detector. ANDESPix is designed in 110 nm CMOS technology from LFoundry (LF11IS). This technology includes a SPAD cell for the wavelength range from 400 nm to 850 nm with high photon detection efficiency (PDE) and low dark count rate (DCR) developed by Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK). ... mehrFirst measurement results are presented at the symposium.