Characterization of Silicon PhotoMultipliers at LNS-INFN

The Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPMs) are a new generation of photodetectors having high sensitivity, excellent time resolution, compactness, low power supply, and insensitivity to magnetic fields. Their properties make them a valid alternative to the PMTs in several fields, such as particle physics, medicine, and space technology. At Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS), a complete characterization of samples developed by different companies (Hamamatsu, STM, SensL) has been performed in order to measure the most significant properties, consisting of the dark noise, cross talk probability, photon detection efficiency, and charge and timing resolutions. Measurements have also been performed coupling the SiPMs with scintillating fibres and small size LYSO scintillators in order to investigate possible applications in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) diagnostics and in the monitoring of nuclear waste sites.