Response of avalanche photo-diodes of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter to neutrons from an Americium-Beryllium source.

The response of avalanche photo-diodes (APDs) used in the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter to low energy neutrons from an Americium-Beryllium source is reported. Signals due to recoil protons from neutron interactions with the hydrogen nuclei in the protective epoxy layer, mainly close to the silicon surface of the APD, have been identified. These signals increase in size with the applied bias voltage more slowly than the nominal gain of the APDs, and appear to have a substantially lower effective gain at the operating voltage. The signals originating from interactions in the epoxy are mostly equivalent to signals of a few GeV in CMS, but range up to a few tens of GeV equivalent. There are also signals not attributed to reactions in the epoxy extending up to the end of the range of these measurements, a few hundreds of GeV equivalent. Signals from the x-rays from the source can also be in the GeV equivalent scale in CMS. Simulations used to describe events due to particle interactions in the APDs need to take into account the effective gain for these signals.