Use of the Peak-Detector mode for gain calibration of SiPM sensors with ASIC CITIROC read-out

Abstract

The ASIC CITIROC is a 32-channel fully analogue front-end ASIC dedicated to the read-out of silicon photo-multiplier (SiPM) sensors that can be used in a variety of experiments with different applications: nuclear physics, medical imaging, astrophysics, etc. For each channel, two parallel AC coupled voltage preamplifiers, one for the high gain and one for the low gain, ensure the read-out of the charge from 160 fC to 320 pC (i.e. from 1 to 2000 photo-electrons with SiPM gain = 106, with a photo-electron to noise ratio of 10). The signal in each of the two preamplifier chains is shaped and the maximum value is captured by activating the peak detector for an adjustable time interval. In this work, we illustrate the peak detector operation mode and, in particular, how this can be used to calibrate the SiPM gain without the need of external light sources. To demonstrate the validity of the method, we also present and discuss some laboratory measurements.