Environmental effects on photomultiplication propagation in silicon

We present measurements of the distortions to avalanche propagation in silicon under various magnetic fields and temperatures. Results imply that avalanche propagation occurs at identical speeds in both a negligible magnetic field and a 9.4T field. In contrast, the quench time of a Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (GAPD) under examination varies from roughly 160ps to 210ps when the temperature is changed from 225K to 325K, which is evidence that the avalanche propagation speed varies as a function of temperature. Additionally, characterization results are presented for a Vernier-delay-line-based time-to-digital converter (TDC) with a resolution of 18ps under the same varying conditions. Like the GAPDs, the TDC shows greater sensitivity to temperature than magnetic fields, with only a 0.4ps shift in resolution when under a 9.4T field compared to a negligible field. Overall, results imply that GAPDs and some TDCs will be operational with little distortions to the sensor attributes at fields with magnitudes larger than 9.4T, compared to known distortions as a function of temperature.