Avalanche photodiodes for the CMS detector

The CERN LHC experiment CMS has selected for the readout of the barrel crystal calorimeter a 5/spl times/5 mm/sup 2/ avalanche photodiode (APD) manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics. In the detector we will equip each crystal with two APDs for a total of 122400 diodes. As the calorimeter will be almost completely inaccessible during the life of the detector, the assurance that they will survive with a high probability in the intense radiation field is an essential part of the of the APD qualification process. In this paper the properties of the APD selected will be described, as well as the procedures we have developed to assure their radiation hardness and reliability.