Study of radiation effects on SiPM for an optical readout system for the EIC dual-radiator RICH

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are the potential candidate photodetector technology selected for the dual radiator Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (dRICH) detector of the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). SiPM are inexpensive devices, with high detection efficiency and insensitive to the high magnetic field experienced at the expected location of the sensors in the experiment. On the other hand, SiPM are susceptible to radiation damage. The integrated radiation level at the location of the sensors in the experiment is expected to be moderate, nonetheless it should be tested whether the capabilities for single photon-counting can be maintained to ensure the optimal dRICH detector performance across the years keeping the dark count rates under control as well. In this paper, the current status of the research studies performed for the EIC dRICH application and the first results on a sample of commercial and prototype SiPM sensors are presented.