Characterisation of a new generation of VUV low-light sensors

Abstract

Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) have emerged as a compelling photo-sensor solution over the course of the last decade. In contrast to the widely used Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs), SiPMs are low-voltage powered, optimal for operation at cryogenic temperatures, and have low radioactivity lev- els with high gain stability over the time in operational conditions. For these reasons, large-scale low-background cryogenic experiments, such as the next- generation Enriched Xenon Observatory experiment (nEXO), are migrating to a SiPM-based light detection system. In this paper we report on the charac- terization of the Hamamatsu VUV4 (S/N: S13370-6152) Vacuum Ultra-Violet (VUV) sensitive Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPC)s as part of the develop- ment of a solution for the detection of liquid xenon scintillation light for the nEXO experiment.