Investigation of shot noise in avalanche photodiodes

Abstract

PbWO4 crystal-Hamamatsu S8148 avalanche photodiode (APD) assembly has been used in the barrel section of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter. The shot noise of the photodiode is one of the important parameters for the energy resolution of the crystal-APD system. The major source of this noise is the statistical variations in the rate at which primary charge carriers are generated and recombine. Thus, the shot noise varies with position of the primary charge carriers generated in photodiode. In this work, the shot noise properties of the Hamamatsu S8148 APD structure and zinc sulfide-silicon (ZnS-Si) isotype heterojunction APD structure have been compared for the PbWO4 photons. Calculations were made with a Single Particle Monte Carlo simulation technique.