Characterization of two SiPM arrays from Hamamatsu and Onsemi for liquid argon detector

Silicon photomultiplier is considered a substitute for traditional photomultiplier tube in the next generation of dark matter and neutrino detectors, especially in noble gas detectors like liquid argon. For seeking more choices operating in a cryogenic environment, two SiPM array candidates from Hamamatsu and Onsemi were selected to verify their feasibility and effectiveness in liquid argon temperature. In this work, by inheriting the circuit DarkSide Collaboration designed earlier, we developed a cryogenic electronics read-out system that connects and works with 1-inch 4 × 4 SiPM arrays at 87 K. The amplifier’s power dissipation is around 10 μW/mm2. Furthermore, multiple significant characteristics of both types of SiPM arrays were measured at liquid argon temperature, such as the breakdown voltage, the dark count rate, the single photoelectron performance, the signal-to-noise ratio, and the correlated signal probability.