Exact solutions for silicon photomultipliers models and application to measurements

Abstract: Dark count rate and correlated noise rate are among the main parameters that characterize silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). Typically, these parameters are evaluated by applying approximate formulas, or by fitting specific models, to the measured SiPM noise spectra. Here a novel approach is presented, where exact formulas are derived from a statistical model of dark counts and correlated noise generation. The method allows one to measure the true value of such parameters from the areas of just the first peaks in the dark spectrum. A numerical analysis shows the accuracy of the method.