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Performance and radiation damage mitigation strategy for silicon photomultipliers on LEO space missions

L. Burmistrov, S. Davarpanah, M. Heller, T. Montaruli, C. Trimarelli, R. Aloisio, F. C. T. Barbato, I. De Mitri, A. Di Giovanni, G. Fontanella, P. Savina, C. Tönnis, E. Moretti, M. Ruzzarin, J. Swakoń, D. Wróbel

TL;DR

This study evaluates FBK NUV-HD-MT SiPMs for the Terzina camera in a 550 km sun-synchronous LEO, focusing on radiation tolerance, noise, and thermal behavior. Using SPENVIS and Geant4, it quantifies space radiation fluxes and doses, then characterises SiPMs under proton and electron irradiation, plus temperature-driven effects. The results identify 30 μm bare sensors as the optimal choice balancing PDE, DCR, and pulse timing, and demonstrate a practical annealing-based mitigation strategy to limit DCR growth over a multi-year mission. The work provides a predictive framework to plan sensor selection and in-flight recovery for SiPM-based space instruments in similar radiation environments.

Abstract

Space missions require lightweight, low-power consuming, radiation-tolerant components. Silicon photomultipliers are increasingly used for detecting near-UV, optical, and infrared light in space due to their compact design, low cost, low power consumption, robustness, and high photo-detection efficiency, which makes them sensitive to single photons. Although SiPMs outperform traditional photomultiplier tubes in many areas, concerns about their radiation tolerance and noise remain. In this study, we estimate the radiation effects on a satellite in sun-synchronous low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 550~km during the declining phase of solar cycle 25 (2026-2029). We evaluated silicon photomultipliers produced by the Foundation Bruno Kessler (FBK) using front-side illuminated technology with metal trenches (NUV-HD-MT), assessing their response to a 50~MeV proton beam and exposure to a $β$-radioactive source (strontium-90). Simulations with SPENVIS and Geant4 were used to validate the experimental results. Based on our findings, we propose a photosensor annealing strategy for space-based instruments.

Performance and radiation damage mitigation strategy for silicon photomultipliers on LEO space missions

TL;DR

This study evaluates FBK NUV-HD-MT SiPMs for the Terzina camera in a 550 km sun-synchronous LEO, focusing on radiation tolerance, noise, and thermal behavior. Using SPENVIS and Geant4, it quantifies space radiation fluxes and doses, then characterises SiPMs under proton and electron irradiation, plus temperature-driven effects. The results identify 30 μm bare sensors as the optimal choice balancing PDE, DCR, and pulse timing, and demonstrate a practical annealing-based mitigation strategy to limit DCR growth over a multi-year mission. The work provides a predictive framework to plan sensor selection and in-flight recovery for SiPM-based space instruments in similar radiation environments.

Abstract

Space missions require lightweight, low-power consuming, radiation-tolerant components. Silicon photomultipliers are increasingly used for detecting near-UV, optical, and infrared light in space due to their compact design, low cost, low power consumption, robustness, and high photo-detection efficiency, which makes them sensitive to single photons. Although SiPMs outperform traditional photomultiplier tubes in many areas, concerns about their radiation tolerance and noise remain. In this study, we estimate the radiation effects on a satellite in sun-synchronous low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 550~km during the declining phase of solar cycle 25 (2026-2029). We evaluated silicon photomultipliers produced by the Foundation Bruno Kessler (FBK) using front-side illuminated technology with metal trenches (NUV-HD-MT), assessing their response to a 50~MeV proton beam and exposure to a -radioactive source (strontium-90). Simulations with SPENVIS and Geant4 were used to validate the experimental results. Based on our findings, we propose a photosensor annealing strategy for space-based instruments.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 16 sections, 10 equations, 23 figures, 6 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction: silicon photosensors in space applications
  2. The Terzina telescope onboard NUSES
  3. The NUV-HD-MT SiPMs for Terzina
  4. Static characterisation
  5. Forward IV characterisation
  6. Reverse IV characterisation and IV model for post-breakdown
  7. Dynamic characterisation
  8. Optical characterisation
  9. Evaluation of radiation fluxes for a LEO space mission
  10. Dose estimates from radiation in space with Geant4
  11. Radiation damage in silicon with proton irradiation
  12. Thermal effect
  13. Electrons irradiation measurements and simulations
  14. DCR prediction during mission
  15. Annealing
  16. ...and 1 more sections

Figures (23)

  • Figure 1: A pictorial view of EAS detection by space-based instruments such as Terzina on board NUSES.
  • Figure 2: Left panel: cross-sectional view of the preliminary geometry of the telescope. Right panel: (a) CAD of the FPA with two rows of 5 tiles occupying an area of $126.5 \times 50.3$ mm$^2$. (b) Detailed view of one tile composed of 64 pixels (c) side view of two tiles and LED position for calibration.
  • Figure 3: Preliminary optical layout of the Terzina telescope. The dual mirror configuration is shown based on the Schmidt-Cassegrain optics.
  • Figure 4: Schematic layouts of the experimental setup for static characterisation (on the left) and the dynamic/optical characterisation (on the right).
  • Figure 5: The forward (left) and reverse (right) IV characteristic data points with scale errors of the instruments for the FBK SiPM with 30 $\mu \mathrm{m}$ micro-cell size. The errors are due to the instrument scale precision.
  • ...and 18 more figures