Performance of scintillating tiles with direct silicon-photomultiplier (SiPM) readout for application to large area detectors

Abstract: The light yield, the time resolution and the efficiency of different types of scintillating tiles with direct Silicon Photomultiplier readout and instrumented with a customised front-end electronics have been measured at the Beam Test Facility of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati and several test stands. The results obtained with different configurations are presented. A time resolution of the order of 300 ps, a light yield of more than 230 photo-electrons, and an efficiency better than 99.8 $\%$ are obtained with $\sim 225$ cm$^2$ large area tiles. This technology is suitable for a wide range of applications in high-energy physics, in particular for large area muon and timing detectors.