We outline the possible applications of newly developed single photon avalanche detectors (SPAD) operating at low voltage and fabricated in silicon planar technology, reporting on tests done with scintillators. We envisage the integration of large arrays of identical sensors, employing a common read-out mode in order to achieve a high resolution and high sensitivity solid state photomultiplier. The applications of such a device would be many, particularly if we consider that we are also working on the production of microoptical components, perfectly suited for the lossless coupling of these photosensors to several light sources (lasers, ordinary and scintillating fibers, scintillators, optical devices), by exploiting the promising deep lithography with ions (DLI) technology. Crossed time-of-flight and charge measurements between SPADs and usual photomultipliers, coupled to scintillators, have allowed to compare their …