Study of silicon photomultipliers for the readout of a lead/scintillating-fiber calorimeter

The KLOE electromagnetic calorimeter is expected to be reused in the Near Detector complex of the DUNE experiment at Fermilab. The possible substitution of traditional Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) with Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) in the refurbished calorimeter is the object of this investigation. A block of the KLOE lead-scintillating fiber calorimeter has been equipped with light guides and external trigger scintillators. The signals induced by cosmic rays and environment radioactivity have been collected on one side by SiPM arrays, and on the opposite one by conventional PMTs. Efficiency, stability, and timing resolution of SiPMs have been studied and compared with KLOE-PMTs performances. Conclusions about the convenience of substituting PMTs with SiPMs are drawn.