An integrated housing with active cooling for Silicon Photomultipliers arrays in next generation of Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are increasingly considered as a baseline photon-detection technology for next-generation Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors (RICH); however, single-photon RICH applications require an effective reduction of the dark count rate, especially after irradiation. An integrated and compact housing module for SiPM arrays is presented, in which mechanical support, compatibility with front-end readout, and active local cooling are combined within a modular and scalable architecture. The concept is derived from the Elementary Cell approach developed for the LHCb RICH Upgrade and is extended by embedding thermal management at the photosensor level. Several cooling strategies are under evaluation, with emphasis on multilayer ceramic substrates incorporating internal fluidic channels. Thermal modeling and prototype measurements indicate stable operation and good temperature uniformity of the cooled structure at temperatures well below 0,∘C reaching the -80 °C range in dedicated tests. The proposed approach provides a path toward low-noise, high-density SiPM-based photodetector modules suitable for next-generation, large-area, scalable RICH detectors.