Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2022) 137: 170
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-02159-4

Regular Article

Applications of silicon photomultipliers in ground-based and spaceborne high-energy astrophysics

¹ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, 06100, Perugia, Italy
² Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, 00133, Roma, Italy

^a giovanni.ambrosi@infn.it

Received: 3 June 2021
Accepted: 8 November 2021
Published online: 25 January 2022

Abstract

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are semiconductor photosensors employed in a wide spectrum of scientific, medical and industrial applications when fast time response and faint light sensitivity in the infrared-ultraviolet range are required. With respect to the well-established technology of photomultiplier tube sensors, SiPMs feature improved spectral sensitivity, robust and customizable mechanical properties and higher resilience and flexibility for operation in harsh environments. These properties make SiPMs an enabling candidate technology to replace photomultiplier tubes and improve the performances of the instrumentation in the field of astrophysics. Many of next generation instruments for imaging cameras of ground-based telescope arrays and for spaceborne detectors for the inspection of the high energy sky are in fact considering SiPMs as the default photodetection technology both for direct and indirect photon detection. We review the most recent advances in the development of SiPM-based instruments for applications that are of interest for the frontier research in astrophysics from ground-based and spaceborne detectors.