Title :
Performance of a large area avalanche photodiode
Author :
Szawlowski, M.J. ; Zhang, S. ; DeCecco, A. ; Madden, M. ; Lindberg, M. ; Gramsch, E.
Author_Institution :
Advanced Photonix, Inc., Camarillo, CA, USA
Abstract :
Avalanche photodiodes (APD) of beveled edge structure with large active areas (up to 200 mm2) have been constructed and characterized for use in low-level light detection. These devices exhibit high gain (1000-2000), relatively low dark current (~200 nA), very low excess noise, and high detectivity. A resolution of 75 electrons RMS has been obtained for 5.9 keV X-rays in direct interaction with a 20 mm2 APD. In scintillation detection resolutions of 6.05% (FWHM) with a CsI(TI) scintillator and 7.7% with NaI(Tl) were measured for the 662 keV line of 137Cs with a 200 mm2 APD at 20°C. With a BGO scintillator (bismuth germanate) a FWHM resolution of 11.2% for the 511 keV line of 22Na was obtained at 0°C. The 200 mm2 APDs exhibit rise times of 3 ns for an impulse input. These results illustrate the potential that APDs have as replacements for photomultiplier tubes and PIN diodes in scintillation detection
Keywords :
X-ray detection and measurement; avalanche photodiodes; 20 degC; 200 nA; 5.9 keV; 511 keV; BGO scintillator; Bi4Ge3O12; CsI(TI); CsI:Tl; NaI(Tl); NaI:Tl; X-rays; avalanche photodiode; dark current; gain; large area; Avalanche photodiodes; Breakdown voltage; Capacitance; Current measurement; Dark current; Electrons; Ionization; Solid scintillation detectors; Temperature distribution; Temperature measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, 1992., Conference Record of the 1992 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0884-0
DOI :
10.1109/NSSMIC.1992.301209
