Comprehensive Characterization of Silicon Photomultipliers for Nuclear Security Applications

Marc A. Wonders, David L. Chichester, Marek Flaska

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Scintillation detectors are an essential instrument in a variety of fields, serving as an effective means of detecting radiation for industrial, defense, medical, and basic-research applications. Light sensors are an integral part of all scintillation detectors and can affect detector performance as much as the scintillator itself. The photomultiplier tube (PMT) has been the standard light sensor for over half a century, but alternatives have been developed recently, and the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is perhaps the most promising of these new technologies. SiPMs can produce gains of the same order of magnitude as most PMTs and have shown reduced noise levels in the newest generations. Additionally, they posses benefits characteristic of solid-state devices such as insensitivity to magnetic fields, mechanical ruggedness, compactness, low operating voltages, and high quantum efficiencies. The timing properties of light sensors are an important characteristic for many applications, including nuclear security. For example, accurate timing is necessary for time of flight experiments, scatter cameras, and background suppression. This work aims to characterize the time resolution of many commercially available new-generation SiPMs, specifically in a time-coincidence setting. SiPMs have been acquired from five leading manufacturers possessing a variety of pixel and microcell sizes. Results are presented with an organic scintillator p-terphenyl and coincidence time resolution of less than 300 picoseconds is achieved. Comparison with PMTs shows that the PMT pair tested has a superior time resolution of 83 picoseconds.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2017 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2017 - Conference Proceedings
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781538622827
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 12 2018
Event2017 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2017 - Atlanta, United States
Duration: Oct 21 2017Oct 28 2017

Publication series

Name2017 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2017 - Conference Proceedings

Other

Other2017 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, NSS/MIC 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta
Period10/21/1710/28/17

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Instrumentation
  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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