One-dimensional single-photon position-sensitive silicon photomultiplier and its application in Raman spectroscopy

We present a one-dimensional (1-D) single-photon position-sensitive silicon photomultiplier (PS-SiPM) that can perform both photon number and position discriminations. The device, which features epitaxial quenching resistors and a continuous cap resistive layer for charge division, possesses two cathodes on top and one anode at the bottom. The PS-SiPM shows an active size of 2.2 mm × 2.2 mm and micro avalanche photodiode cell pitch of ~10 μm. The position measurement error (PME) and position resolution of the device are analyzed. The PME with low mean photoelectron number of approximately 0.11 is 29.6 ± 27.3 μm. The single-photon position resolution is 393.4 μm. When the photoelectron number increases from 1 to 7, the position resolution is improved from 393.4 μm to 56.2 μm. The application of the PS-SiPM in Raman spectroscopy for carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) at room temperature shows advantages of both CCD (rapid measurement) and photomultiplier tube (high gain, fast photon response, and simple readout electronics). This novel device concept exhibits potential as a low-cost and high-performance detector for various laser spectroscopies.