Scientists at Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies EMFT, together with Ketek GmbH, have developed a novel, silicon-based optical sensor component called a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM).

The module is immune against magnetic radiation, which is essential for combining PET and MRT, which is an efficient hybrid diagnosis method. The device also has  in other low light applications such as space exploration , high frequency physics, life sciences and, in general, detecting weak light signals in analytical instruments.

The sensor component developed by the scientists in Munich has several advantages compared to traditional technology. The lower operating voltage eases the device design. Due to improved temperature stability of the components, less cooling of the equipment is necessary. This results in reduced manufacturing complexity and cost. A low dark count rate eases the detection of the target signal, thus increasing the efficiency. The single components show very homogeneous properties, which facilitates the parallelization of several detector components into one block detector, quite unlike traditional photomultiplier.

To read more: http://www.electroiq.com/articles/sst/2012/08/fraunhofer-develops-new-silicon-photomultiplier.html?cmpid=EnlSmallTimesSeptember182012