Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Royal Philips Electronics has announced development of a digital silicon photomultiplier that will allow faster and more accurate photon (the basic quantum unit of light) counting in a wide range of applications where ultra-low light levels need to be measured.
Areas where the new technology could have a major impact include medical imaging, in particular positron emission tomography (PET), and in-vitro diagnostic tests such as DNA sequencing and protein/DNA microarrays. Other relevant areas include high-energy physics, night-vision systems and other applications that currently use light detectors that are based on so-called photomultiplier tubes.
As with virtually all 'solid-state' alternatives, the new Philips digital silicon photomultiplier technology should enable the production of smaller and lighter battery-powered equipment for use in areas such as medical diagnostics and surveillance.
"Silicon photomultipliers have many advantages over photomultiplier tubes in terms of size, weight, reliability, maintenance, power consumption and supply voltage. It is expected that the photomultiplier world very soon will be converted to silicon," commented Albert Theuwissen, professor at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Philips said the key to this breakthrough lies in its ability to combine high quality single-photon detectors (silicon avalanche photodiodes) with low-voltage CMOS logic on the same silicon substrate. Moreover, these revolutionary new silicon photomultipliers can be manufactured using a conventional CMOS process technology.
"Solid-state digital technology has already taken over from outdated analog solutions in every-day applications such as TVs, camcorders and photography," said Rob Ballizany, VP of Philips Corporate Technologies. "I am convinced that high-end professional applications such as medical imaging will undergo a similar switch to digital detectors in the next few years."
Philips digital silicon photomultiplier
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