Speaker
Dr
Dennis Schaart
(Delft University of Technology)
Description
Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have recently been shown to enable better timing resolution than photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) when used as light sensors in scintillation detectors. This makes them interesting for use in time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET). Additional features for this application are their compactness and magnetic field compatibility, enabling MRI-compatible PET detectors. Recently, a fully digital version of the SiPM, the so-called digital silicon photomultiplier (dSiPM), has been introduced. In these devices the quench resistor in each microcell is replaced by active quenching circuitry. Integrated trigger logic is used to determine a time stamp and the total number of photons detected in the light pulse. Here, we present an overview of recent results obtained with single elements as well as 8 x 8 arrays of dSiPMs in combination with Ca-codoped LSO:Ce crystals. A coincidence resolving time (CRT) of 120 ps FWHM was achieved with 3 mm x 3 mm x 5 mm LSO:Ce,Ca crystals, illustrating that dSiPMs allow for excellent timing resolution. Moreover, the use of dSiPM arrays in combination with monolithic LSO:Ce,Ca crystals appears to enable a unique combination of sub-mm spatial resolution, good energy resolution (~11.5% FWHM), and a CRT < 350 ps FWHM. At the conference, the latest results of these ongoing studies will be presented. Furthermore, the application of digital SiPMs will be discussed from the viewpoint of achieving the best possible performance at the full system level in future TOF-PET and PET/MRI scanners.
Author
Dr
Dennis Schaart
(Delft University of Technology)
Co-authors
Mr
Gerben Van der Lei
(Delft University of Technology)
Giacomo Borghi
(TERA Foundation (IT))
Mr
Herman Van Dam
(Delft University of Technology)
Mr
Stefan Seifert
(gerbenjoshua@gmail.com)
Mr
Valerio Tabacchini
(gerbenjoshua@gmail.com)
