Comparing Front-end Alternatives for SiPM’s in Single-photon Time Resolution Applications

Thanks to single photon detection capability and excellent intrinsic timing resolution, silicon photomultipliers represent an interesting solution in an increasing range of applications which require accurate evaluation of the arrival time of single photons. In this contribution, different front-end electronics solutions for this kind of detectors are compared, to find out more about the achievable timing performance. For this purpose, simple relationships have been established between the main parameters of both detector and preamplifier and the time resolution, expressed by means of the time jitter when leading edge discrimination is the chosen time pick-off technique. A simplified SiPM model, suitable to describe the very first part of the transient response of the detector to a photon which triggers an avalanche breakdown in one of its micro-cells, has been exploited. Considering also the effects of the parasitic inductance associated to the interconnections between detector and front-end electronics, we conclude that the current-mode read-out approach offers some advantages over the other considered design styles, thus representing the most suitable solution for single-photon timing measurement applications based on SiPM detectors.