Single photon avalanche diode radiation tests

The single photon counting diodes are recently planned for applications in deep space missions. That is why the proton radiation and gamma ray radiation tests of silicon based single photon avalanche diodes were measured and compared. The main characteristic that changed after the irradiation was effective dark count rate, which was measured using actively quenching and gating circuit. The radiation reached 6.5 krad at 53 MeV protons energy and 34 krad using gamma ray radiation source 60Co. The annealing rates were monitored at room temperature and at 60 °C.