UVSiPM: A light detector instrument based on a SiPM sensor working in single photon counting

Sottile, G.; Russo, F.; Agnetta, G.; Belluso, M.; Billotta, S.; Biondo, B.; Bonanno, G.; Catalano, O.; Giarrusso, S.; Grillo, A.; Impiombato, D.; Rosa, G. La; Maccarone, M. C.; Mangano, A.; Marano, D.; Mineo, T.; Segreto, A.; Strazzeri, E.; Timpanaro, M. C.

doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2013.05.040

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Although our detectors are similar in principle to those large-area solid-state photomultipliers now demonstrated in Cherenkov telescopes (Anderhub et al, 2013;Catalano et al, 2013;Sottile et al, 2013), those larger area ones are built up by a large number of individual light-sensitive areas on the same silicon chip and (as we have examined in other laboratory experiments) possess somewhat different deadtime, dark-count, and afterpulsing characteristics. An adequate understanding of these detector properties (or of photomultipliers, in case such would be used) will be required to reach the photometric precisions required for disentangling physical values of (2) from stochastic or systematic noise.…”

Section: Outlook For Field Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…However, their quantum efficiency is not perfect, and their electric requirements and consequences from overexposure may cause some concern. Recently, higher-efficiency and less fragile silicon avalanche photodiode arrays have been incorporated into Cherenkov cameras (Anderhub et al, 2013;Catalano et al, 2013;Sottile et al, 2013) and it can be envisioned that such detectors will also be used in future telescopes, at least those with an optical twomirror design that produce a fairly compact focal plane.…”

Section: Photon-counting Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-baseline optical intensity interferometry

Dravins

Lagadec

Nuñez

2015

A&A

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Context. A long-held vision has been to realize diffraction-limited optical aperture synthesis over kilometer baselines. This will enable imaging of stellar surfaces and their environments, and reveal interacting gas flows in binary systems. An opportunity is now opening up with the large telescope arrays primarily erected for measuring Cherenkov light in air induced by gamma rays. With suitable software, such telescopes could be electronically connected and also used for intensity interferometry. Second-order spatial coherence of light is obtained by cross correlating intensity fluctuations measured in different pairs of telescopes. With no optical links between them, the error budget is set by the electronic time resolution of a few nanoseconds. Corresponding light-travel distances are approximately one meter, making the method practically immune to atmospheric turbulence or optical imperfections, permitting both very long baselines and observing at short optical wavelengths. Aims. Previous theoretical modeling has shown that full images should be possible to retrieve from observations with such telescope arrays. This project aims at verifying diffraction-limited imaging experimentally with groups of detached and independent optical telescopes. Methods. In a large optics laboratory, artificial stars (single and double, round and elliptic) were observed by an array of small telescopes. Using high-speed photon-counting solid-state detectors and real-time electronics, intensity fluctuations were cross-correlated over up to 180 baselines between pairs of telescopes, producing coherence maps across the interferometric Fourier-transform plane. Results. These interferometric measurements were used to extract parameters about the simulated stars, and to reconstruct their twodimensional images. As far as we are aware, these are the first diffraction-limited images obtained from an optical array only linked by electronic software, with no optical connections between the telescopes. Conclusions. These experiments serve to verify the concepts for long-baseline aperture synthesis in the optical (somewhat analogous to radio interferometry) and to optimize the instrumentation and observing procedures for future observations with large arrays of Cherenkov telescopes, aiming at order-of-magnitude improvements of the angular resolution in optical astronomy.

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Section: Outlook For Field Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Photon-counting Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-baseline optical intensity interferometry

Dravins

Lagadec

Nuñez

2015

A&A

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“…Additionally to that, redundant information is obtained for calibration and cross-checks by photometric measurements of reference stars using a sophisticated, portable small-aperture multi-pixels photon detector, the UVScope and the UVSiPM [58,59] and the "Cherenkov Transparency Coefficient" (CTC) calculated directly from science data [60].…”

Section: Aerosol Characterization Of the Observed Field-of-view By Ctamentioning

confidence: 99%

CTA Atmospheric Calibration

Gaug

2017

EPJ Web Conf.

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Abstract. The main contribution to the systematic uncertainties of Atmospheric Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) currently stems from the uncertainty in the determination of atmospheric properties for a given moment of observation. This technique uses the atmosphere as a calorimeter of gamma-ray induced atmospheric air showers and measures the amount of Cherenkov light collected by large mirrors and focused towards a pixellized camera. Atmospheric conditions affect the measured Cherenkov light yield in several ways: the air-shower development itself, the variation of the Cherenkov angle with altitude and the loss of photons due to scattering and absorption of Cherenkov light. Although IACTs use to be located at astronomical sites, characterized by extremely clear atmospheric conditions, the local atmosphere should be continuously monitored, in terms of molecular density profiles, aerosol extinction profiles, and clouds. Moreover, a general understanding of the site and particularly aerosol climatology is desirable for a robust interpretation of the sensing instruments' data. Here, the strategy of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) on atmospheric monitoring is presented, designed to ensure that the related systematic uncertainties are brought down by at least a factor of two with respect to current installations. Additionally, a more intelligent scheduling scheme is aimed at, where source observations are selected using dedicated auxiliary atmospheric monitoring instruments and taking into account the feasibility of a later analysis according to the underlying scientific case. This plan should reduce data loss during offline data selection and enhance the effective duty cycle of the CTA.

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“…However, their quantum efficiency is not perfect, and their electric requirements and consequences from overexposure may cause some concerns. Recently, higher-efficiency and less fragile solid-state silicon avalanche photodiodes have been incorporated into Cherenkov telescopes [26][27][28] and it can be envisioned that such detectors will be used also in future telescopes, at least those with an optical two-mirror design that produce a more compact focal plane.…”

Section: Photon-counting Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stellar intensity interferometry over kilometer baselines: laboratory simulation of observations with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Dravins¹,

Lagadec²

2014

SPIE Proceedings

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A long-held astronomical vision is to realize diffraction-limited optical aperture synthesis over kilometer baselines. This will enable imaging of stellar surfaces and their environments, show their evolution over time, and reveal interactions of stellar winds and gas flows in binary star systems. An opportunity is now opening up with the large telescope arrays primarily erected for measuring Cherenkov light in air induced by gamma rays. With suitable software, such telescopes could be electronically connected and used also for intensity interferometry. With no optical connection between the telescopes, the error budget is set by the electronic time resolution of a few nanoseconds. Corresponding light-travel distances are on the order of one meter, making the method practically insensitive to atmospheric turbulence or optical imperfections, permitting both very long baselines and observing at short optical wavelengths. Theoretical modeling has shown how stellar surface images can be retrieved from such observations and here we report on experimental simulations. In an optical laboratory, artificial stars (single and double, round and elliptic) are observed by an array of telescopes. Using high-speed photon-counting solid-state detectors and real-time electronics, intensity fluctuations are cross correlated between up to a hundred baselines between pairs of telescopes, producing maps of the second-order spatial coherence across the interferometric Fourier-transform plane. These experiments serve to verify the concepts and to optimize the instrumentation and observing procedures for future observations with (in particular) CTA, the Cherenkov Telescope Array, aiming at order-of-magnitude improvements of the angular resolution in optical astronomy.

show abstract

UVSiPM: A light detector instrument based on a SiPM sensor working in single photon counting

Cited by 15 publications

References 2 publications

Long-baseline optical intensity interferometry

Long-baseline optical intensity interferometry

CTA Atmospheric Calibration

Stellar intensity interferometry over kilometer baselines: laboratory simulation of observations with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

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