ABSTRACT
Progress in science and technology is often limited by the ability to detect and accurately characterize low levels of visible light. One of the most demanding and scientifically important technology areas limited by photodetector capabilities is the detection and characterization of ionizing radiation. This chapter presents an overview of selected characteristics of photodetector performance, particularly in the context of nuclear detector applications, and describes operating characteristics of emerging standard silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor, solid-state photomultiplier (CMOS SSPM) devices. It also presents some advancement in scintillation detectors, which have stimulated the development of CMOS SSPM detectors. A variety of detectors convert the optical signals from scintillation detectors into electrical signals for subsequent processing by the readout components, whose design depends on the application. The chapter summarizes photodetectors commonly used with scintillation materials are essentially characterized by their efficiency for detecting optical signals, the noise associated with internal gain, as given by the excess noise factor, and fluctuations in the dark current.
