The MPPC is a new type of photon counting device made up of multiple APD (avalanche photodiode) pixels operated in Geiger mode. The MPPC is essentially an opto-semiconductor device with excellent photon counting capability and which also posseses great advantages such as low voltage operation and insensitivity to magnetic fields.

This new offering expands Hamamatsu’s lineup of high performance photo detectors and enables the spread of proven technology into more widespread use.

The MPPC achieves gain in the order of 10⁵ to 10⁶ by taking advantage of the Geiger discharge. This phenomenon occurs when the APD is operated at a reverse voltage higher than the breakdown voltage.

The benefit of this high gain is that it allows detector to output a current that is greater than the typical noise floor of the amplifiers used, and therefore, it allows the system to detect a lower light level than sensors using low gain detectors.

Along with High Gain, the MPPC also benefits from a large active area of 1 x 1 mm, and a novel use of individual quenching circuitry for each pixel. These innovations allow the MPPC to detect more photons accurately.

The MPPC features very low TTS (Transit Time Spread), which makes it extremely useful for TOF (Time of Flight) measurements or Time Correlated measurements.

This detector has a great deal of immunity to the effects of Magnetic Fields, this is specially important when the application requires the use of the detector in an environment where strong magnetic fields are present, such as High Energy Physics experiments.

Taking advantage of Hamamatsu’s proven semiconductor process; the MPPC can be produced reliably in quantities needed to satisfy any OEM needs. The MPPC also allows the design of the supporting electronics to be simplified, by requiring operating voltage of around 70 V; and requiring less gain on the amplifiers.

The MPPC is available in standard TO-18 or Ceramic packages, which allow the downsizing of the instruments employing this technology.