Preliminary study of silicon photomultipliers for space missions

The new photodetector Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) promises to meet the needs of a space particle physics experiment: these are low weight, low consumption, resistance to radiation damage, constant performance for a long time and, for spectrometry applications, insensitivity to magnetic fields. Samples of SiPM have been studied in laboratory, by means of the same characterization methods adopted to calibrate the 192 PMTs of the AMS Time Of Flight (TOF). A detailed simulation was made in order to model the SiPM response for the various experimental conditions. The results of the measurements and simulation are shown. A comparison between SiPM and photomultiplier performances supports the use of these new detectors in conjunction with scintillators in TOF techniques for future space missions.