1 research outputs found
A New Fast Silicon Photomultiplier Photometer
The realization of low-cost instruments with high technical performance is a
goal which deserves some efforts in an epoch of fast technological
developments: indeed such instruments can be easily reproduced and therefore
allow to open new research programs in several Observatories. We realized a
fast optical photometer based on the SiPM technology, using commercially
available modules. Using low-cost components we have developed a custom
electronic chain to extract the signal produced by a commercial MPPC module
produced by Hamamatsu, in order to obtain sub millisecond sampling of the light
curve of astronomical sources, typically pulsars. In the early February 2011 we
observed the Crab Pulsar at the Cassini telescope with our prototype
photometer, deriving its period, power spectrum and shape of its light curve in
very good agreement with the results obtained in the past with other
instruments.Comment: Accepted for Publications of the Astronomical Society of Pacific
(PASP), 8 pages, 8 figure