Silicon (Si) single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays sensitive to the 400- to 900-nm wavelength range have been studied for a number of uses due to their high detection efficiency; zero readout noise; low timing jitter; mechanical robustness; low-voltage (< 50 V) operation; mass producibility; and low size, weight, power, and cost. As with all solid-state detectors, however, they are susceptible to damage by radiation, with displacement damage by energetic particles being the primary concern for many applications. This article reports the results of low-dose-rate neutron irradiation from an americium–beryllium (AmBe) source on a $256\times256$ array of 10- $\mu \text{m}$ active diameter SPADs, each with live recording of their dark count rate (DCR), up to a cumulative displacement damage dose equivalent to that delivered by a 1-MeV neutron fluence of $5.69\cdot 10^{9}$ cm $^{-2}$ in Si (11.59 TeV/g). A small fraction (~2.57%) of the SPADs in the array experienced a significant step increase in their DCR, which we ascribe to displacement damage. The remainder experienced a far more gradual and subdued increase. For this reason, an operational concept for SPAD arrays, whereby SPADs that begin to exhibit a step increase in DCR are disabled, should significantly extend the useful performance of such arrays in radiation environments. We report the surviving proportion of an array implementing such an operational concept per unit dose and its DCR.

中文翻译：

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评估用于提高单光子雪崩二极管 (SPAD) 阵列辐射耐受性的操作概念

对 400 至 900 纳米波长范围敏感的硅 (Si) 单光子雪崩二极管 (SPAD) 阵列因其高检测效率而被研究用于多种用途；零读出噪声；低时序抖动；机械强度；低电压 (< 50 V) 操作；批量生产；以及低尺寸、重量、功率和成本。然而，与所有固态探测器一样，它们容易受到辐射损坏，高能粒子造成的位移损坏是许多应用的主要问题。本文报告了镅-铍 (AmBe) 源在 $256\times256$ 数组 10- $\mu \text{m}$ 活动直径SPAD，每个SPAD都实时记录其暗计数率（DCR），累积位移损伤剂量相当于1-MeV中子注量 $5.69\cdot 10^{9}$ 厘米 $^{-2}$ 在 Si (11.59 TeV/g) 中。阵列中一小部分 (~2.57%) 的 SPAD 的 DCR 显着增加，我们将其归因于位移损坏。其余的经历了更为渐进和温和的增长。出于这个原因，SPAD 阵列的操作概念，其中开始表现出 DCR 逐步增加的 SPAD 被禁用，应该显着扩展此类阵列在辐射环境中的有用性能。我们报告了每单位剂量实施这种操作概念的阵列的幸存比例及其 DCR。