Journal article
Performance of FBK VUV-HD3 and HPK VUV4 SiPMs in the Light-only Liquid Xenon (LoLX) detector
Journal of instrumentation, v 21(8), pP08011
01 Aug 2026
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Abstract
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a critical technology for the next generation of rare-event search experiments using liquid xenon (LXe). LXe scintillation is emitted primarily in the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV), requiring photosensors with high VUV detection efficiency under cryogenic operating conditions. Direct characterization of VUV-sensitive SiPMs in LXe is therefore important for informing detector design and comparing device response. This work presents a direct comparison of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) VUV-HD3 and Hamamatsu (HPK) VUV4 SiPMs operated simultaneously within the Light-only Liquid Xenon (LoLX) detector. Using data collected with gamma sources placed outside the detector, we characterized the relative performance of these photosensors. Our analysis reveals that under these operating conditions, the HPK SiPMs observe 33–38% less light than the FBK devices, a larger difference than predicted by standard PDE models in vacuum measurements. We show that this discrepancy is resolved by an angular and wavelength dependent PDE model incorporating surface shadowing effects into our optical simulation, which then accurately reproduces the experimental data. This finding has significant implications for the selection and implementation of photosensors in future large-scale LXe detectors.
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Details
- Title
- Performance of FBK VUV-HD3 and HPK VUV4 SiPMs in the Light-only Liquid Xenon (LoLX) detector
- Creators
- Xiang Li - TRIUMFDavid Gallacher - TRIUMFStephanie Bron - TRIUMFThomas Brunner - McGill UniversityAustin de St CroixFrédéric Girard - McGill UniversityColin Hempel - TRIUMFMouftahou Bakary Latif - Drexel UniversitySimon Lavoie - McGill UniversityChloé Malbrunot - TRIUMFFabrice Retière - TRIUMFMarc-André TétraultLei Wang - TRIUMF
- Publication Details
- Journal of instrumentation, v 21(8), pP08011
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing; Bristol
- Number of pages
- 17
- Grant note
- Qubec (FRQ) Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) TRIUMF Science and Technology Group
This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund through the Arthur B. McDonald Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, with support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec (FRQ), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). We wish to thank the TRIUMF Science and Technology Group for their invaluable support in the construction of the detector. We also thank the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and Calcul Quebec for providing the computing resources required to undertake this work.r Quebec (FRQ) , and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) . We wish to thank the TRIUMF Science and Technology Group for their invaluable support in the construction of the detector. We also thank the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and Calcul Quebec for providing the computing resources required to undertake this work.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001848307600001
- Other Identifier
- 991022201577004721