An optical cryostat for automated testing of silicon photomultipliers with vacuum-ultraviolet light
Abstract
We present the design and performance of an optical cryostat for testing silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) with vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) light. The cryostat operates within a temperature range of 120 to 340 K, achieving a temperature stability of 1.2 mK, measured in a rolling 10-minute window once settled within a liquid nitrogen fill-cycle, and 13.8 mK over a complete fill-cycle including the refill transient. The cryostat includes a VUV-transparent CaF2 viewport with a 142 mm diameter clear aperture, which limits the optically accessible sample area to 158 cm2. The viewport is integrated into a sealed dark box and optical table to facilitate light delivery. VUV illumination is achieved using a custom xenon scintillation lamp or a xenon flash lamp, with a motorized two-axis linear rail system ensuring precise light positioning over the sample. This paper details the cryostat and optical system design, as well as commissioning current-voltage (IV) measurements using Hamamatsu VUV-sensitive SiPMs from 165 to 295 K and a measurement of the photodetection efficiency at 165 K.
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BibTeX
@misc{darroch2026optical,
title = {{An optical cryostat for automated testing of silicon photomultipliers with vacuum-ultraviolet light}},
author = {Lucas Darroch and Riya Rai and Soud Al Kharusi and David Gallacher and Megan Marquis and Sebastian Eppelt and Iskender Isikbay and Xiao Shang and Tsvetelin Totev and Naman Walia and Thomas Brunner},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.05840},
eprint = {2609.05840},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05840},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - An optical cryostat for automated testing of silicon photomultipliers with vacuum-ultraviolet light
AU - Lucas Darroch
AU - Riya Rai
AU - Soud Al Kharusi
AU - David Gallacher
AU - Megan Marquis
AU - Sebastian Eppelt
AU - Iskender Isikbay
AU - Xiao Shang
AU - Tsvetelin Totev
AU - Naman Walia
AU - Thomas Brunner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/12
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.05840
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05840
AB - We present the design and performance of an optical cryostat for testing silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) with vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) light. The cryostat operates within a temperature range of 120 to 340 K, achieving a temperature stability of 1.2 mK, measured in a rolling 10-minute window once settled within a liquid nitrogen fill-cycle, and 13.8 mK over a complete fill-cycle including the refill transient. The cryostat includes a VUV-transparent CaF_2 viewport with a 142 mm diameter clear aperture, which limits the optically accessible sample area to 158 cm^2. The viewport is integrated into a sealed dark box and optical table to facilitate light delivery. VUV illumination is achieved using a custom xenon scintillation lamp or a xenon flash lamp, with a motorized two-axis linear rail system ensuring precise light positioning over the sample. This paper details the cryostat and optical system design, as well as commissioning current-voltage (IV) measurements using Hamamatsu VUV-sensitive SiPMs from 165 to 295 K and a measurement of the photodetection efficiency at 165 K.
ER -