Development of a Gamma Spectroscopy Detector Based on SiPMs and 1" Ce:GAGG Scintillator

In the field of nuclear radiation detection, sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) and lanthanum bromide (LaBr3) are the primary scintillation crystals used for energy spectrum detectors. Furthermore, energy spectrum detectors based on gadolinium gallium aluminum garnet (Ce:GAGG) scintillation crystals are minor. In this work, a 1-inch Ce:GAGG and Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are employed to construct a detector, and the coupled medium was silicone oil. An optimal SiPMs quantity scheme for the energy resolution was determined by varying the number of SiPMs coupled to Ce:GAGG and studying the effect of the different number of SiPMs on the energy resolution of the detector. Energy-resolution contrast experiments between Ce:GAGG and NaI(Tl) were performed using this scheme. The experimental results demonstrate that increasing the number of SiPMs enhances the energy resolution of the detector significantly. Notably, the energy resolution of the Ce:GAGG detector is comparable to that of the NaI(Tl) detector. Additionally, both detectors exhibit an energy linearity exceeding 99.9%. .

YSO coded aperture camera based on depth of interaction for location correction

Purpose Coded aperture imaging was a widely used imaging method for radiation sources.However,the traditional gamma camera based on two-dimensional projection information for coded aperture imaging ignored the influence of the interaction depth of particles and detectors on the projection information,which reduced the imaging quality of the camera to some extent.Therefore,a method of correcting the coded gamma camera based on the interaction depth of particles and detectors is proposed to improve the location accuracy of detectors.Methods The camera developed in this work uses a 7×7 YSO crystal array coupled with two 7×7 Si-PM arrays.The crystal is evenly divided into 11 parts in the depth direction,with a voxel size of 3×3×3 mm3.The coded mask is a 13×13 array,which is a mosaic of two cycles of 7×7 modified uniformly redundant array mask.The depth resolution of the detector is obtained via the subsurface laser engraving dual-end readout method.After obtaining the three-dimensional position information of the interaction point the projection information obtained by the detector is layered,and the image is reconstructed.According to the spatial position information of the detector and the coded mask,the corresponding field of view of each layer of the detector is calculated,and the reconstructed image of each layer is amplified and superimposed according to the ratio of the field of view to obtain the reconstructed image combined with the depth information.Results and conclusion According to Monte Carlo simulation and radiation source imaging experiment results,this method can effectively improve the positioning ability of the detector.For the experimental scenario mentioned in the paper,the location accuracy can be improved by up to 1.54°.

Compact MPPC-based coded aperture imaging camera for dual-particle detection

Purpose Fast neutrons and gamma-ray imaging detection is an effective way to detect and identify radioactive material in the field of nuclear security.A compact coded aperture imaging(CAI)camera was designed to be sensitive to both gamma and neutron radiation based on plastic scintillators and multi-pixel photon counters(MPPC).Methods MPPCs coupling with the 13×13 pixelated plastic scintillators one-to-one were utilized to reduce the scale of the CAI system while maintaining good positional performance.The symmetric charge division(SCD)circuit was adopted to reduce the 169 signals output from the MPPC array to 26.Each waveform was collected and processed with four Domino Ring Sampler 4(DRS4)chips and two 16-channel analog-to-digital converter(ADC)modules.As the pulse shapes of fast neutrons would be broadened after elastic scattering multiple times in the scintillators,the Anger-Logic method was applied to eliminate multiple elastic scattering events so that good pulse shape discrimination(PSD)performance can be achieved.Results The imaging and detection ability of the camerawas evaluated using the 241Am-Be(5.9×10^(5) n/s)neutron source and 137Cs(370 MBq)gammasource.The camera can be used to detect fast neutrons(0.5–10 MeV)and gammarays(0.2–2.5MeV).Furthermore,it can implement efficient neutron/gamma PSD capabilities in the mixed-field environment.The figure of merit(FOM)of the camera calculated at 400keVee energy cut is 0.93.Conclusion A compact MPPC-based CAI camera was designed to detect and discriminate fast neutrons and gamma rays.Its good PSD performance was well suited to distinguish fast neutrons from gamma rays in a dual-particle environment.The portable design makes it promising for complex monitoring scenarios in nuclear security.

Design of readout electronics based on peak-holding circuit and multiplexer for a fast neutron spectrometer

Background Fast neutron detection is meaningful in many research fields such as space environment monitoring.A scintillating fiber array model for fast neutron detection was proposed and developed in 1980s.Aerospace applications of the model require electronics in small size.Purpose To design a dedicated electronic system to readout and process the 384-channel signals from scintillating fiber array,and to use the designed system to fabricate a neutron detector for aerospace applications.Methods With the method of nuclear recoil,fast neutron is detected by tracking recoil proton of n–p scatter in scintillating plastic fibers.Using the peak-holding circuits and multiplexers,the system size and power consumption were reduced.Results The detector fabricated with the designed system,had 34 cm×34 cm×27 cm mechanical size,20.4 kg weight,and 30.05W power consumption.Comparing to traditional waveform sampling electronics,the designed electronics was highly integrated and had a small size.The readout electronics also gave a better energy resolution of 39%in neutron detection,while the energy resolution was 43%in previous version.Conclusion In this study,a highly integrated readout electronic system was designed and verified.The detector using the system gave good performance.The designed electronics had potential development in fast neutron detection and other high energy physics detection system.