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On-Orbit Performance of Glowbug SiPMs

Presentation #105.17 in the session Missions and Instruments - Poster Session.

Published onMay 03, 2024
On-Orbit Performance of Glowbug SiPMs

We report on the performance of the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) read out on the Glowbug instrument, operating at the ISS Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) since March 2023. Glowbug is a NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) funded instrument conceived, designed and built by the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, and is the pathfinder instrument for the upcoming NASA StarBurst Multimessenger Pioneers mission. Glowbug’s primary science objective is the detection and localization of short GRBs, which are the result of mergers of stellar binaries involving a neutron star with either another neutron star or a black hole. Detection of these astrophysical events by Glowbug is enabled by 12 large area, inorganic scintillator panels (thallium-doped cesium iodide, CsI:Tl), arrayed on the surface of a half cube. Each panel is read out on one edge by an array of SiPMs. Additionally, within the half cube, resides two inorganic scintillators, Cs2LiLaBr6:Ce (CLLB), and a small plastic scintillator on the exterior used as an SAA entry and exit detector, both of which are read out by an array of SiPMs on one face of each detector unit. While it is known that SiPMs are susceptible to radiation damage from energetic particles, encountered either in orbit or via high-fluence particle beams, steps can be taken to mitigate the effects from damage, such as choosing a proper power supply to account for the increase in leakage current incurred during the lifetime of the mission. In this presentation we will show Glowbug on-orbit results for one year’s worth of data, in terms of the measured increase in the leakage current since commissioning, mitigation steps taken and the minimal effects on instrument performance.

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