Paper

---

My Tenth Paper

This work showcases my SiPM simulator, named SimSPAD. The simulation is used to perform Monte-Carlo experiments, to compare with existing results to validate it for future work.

Abstract

Silicon photomultiplier’s relatively large area and ability to detect single photons makes them attractive as receivers for visible light communications. However, their non-linear response has a negative impact on the receiver performance, including making them particularly sensitive to ambient light. Experiments and Monte Carlo simulations have been used to study this non-linearity. The resulting detailed understanding of the origins of the non-linear response leads to concerns over the accuracy of some previous simulations of SiPMs. In addition, it leads to simple methods to determine the maximum rate at which an SiPM can count photons and of determining the impact of a SiPMs non-linearity on its performance of a receiver. Finally, a method of determining which filters should be used to protect an SiPM from ambient light is proposed.

Key Findings

A simulator is presented, and important modelling decisions for SiPMs are discussed.

In the future, Monte Carlo simulations can help understand the non-linear responses of SiPMs and develop methods to accommodate this non-linearity when it arises from transmitted data in modulation schemes like OFDM. Currently, a Volterra series non-linear equalizer is used, but it relies on numerous parameters. Understanding SiPM non-linearity through simulations may lead to simpler and more effective methods to address it in OFDM. Comparing SiPM parameters such as PDE, microcell count, recovery time, and output pulse width is best done through detailed numerical simulations, which have been shown to align with experimental results, as conducting reliable experiments with commercially available SiPMs is challenging due to limited parameter options and the impact of other system components.