Modeling Output Signals of Solid-State Photomultiplier with Capacitive Coupling

The paper deals with the statistical analysis of output signals of a solid-state photomultiplier with capacitive-coupled pixels. The photomultiplier represents an array of parallel-connected avalanche photodiodes with integrated quenching resistors. It has several advantages over the single avalanche photodiode, in particular a significantly lower working voltage and a linear response. Analyzed in the paper are the mean and variance of the output signal for background radiation and for the reception of optical pulses. These parameters determine the requirements for averaging and pulse-compression techniques in case of full waveform digitization, which may find applications in range finding.