基于硅光电倍增管对塑料闪烁光纤衰减长度及光产额的研究

作为外靶实验终端(ETF)飞行时间探测的关键探测器,起始时间探测器需满足承受高计数率、高时间分辨和位置分辨等需求。塑料闪烁光纤(PSF)作为起始时间探测器改进方案的一种考虑,其衰减长度、光产额等性能参数将直接影响探测器的实际性能。本工作基于硅光电倍增管(SiPM)和PSF搭建相应的测试平台,系统研究了SiPM SensL MicroFC-SMA-30035和PSF Kuraray SCSF-78J的实际性能。结果表明:所选型号的SiPM具有优秀的单光子分辨能力,在所选工作电压范围内具有高增益及良好的增益线性,且具有较好的线性响应;光子在光纤中的衰减由两种成分组成,芯层光的有效衰减长度为547.4 cm,包层光的有效衰减长度为15.5 cm,光纤有效光产额约为552光子/mm,实际光产额约为968光子/mm。测试结果表明,采用该PSF结合SiPM读出的方式满足新型起始时间探测器的要求。     

SiPM低压电源模块性能研究

硅光电倍增管(Silicon photomultiplier,SiPM/Multi-Pixel Photon Counter,MPPC)因其高增益、低功耗,极好的光子分辨能力受到广泛的使用,但商用单通道低压电源模块无法满足大型科学实验SiPM的批量测试使用。本文针对实验室研发的一款电压可调、可批量程控测试的SiPM低压电源模块开展性能测试研究。并且经过与商业电源的对比测试,其性能满足对SiPM批量测试的要求。     

微小角中子散射谱仪的高分辨中子闪烁体探测器研究

微小角中子散射谱仪是中国散裂中子源(China spallation neutron source,CSNS)工程目前在建的谱仪之一,为了实现微小角散射模式下中子衍射的精确测量,要求中子探测器的位置分辨≤2 mm、探测效率≥60%@0.4 nm。在此物理精度需求下,研制了基于⁶LiF/ZnS(Ag)闪烁屏、波移光纤阵列和硅光电倍增管(Silicon Photomultiplier,SiPM)结构的位置灵敏型闪烁体探测器,以实现热中子的高效率和高分辨实时探测。探测效率测试以标准3He管的入射中子数归一化计算得到,位置分辨通过含有“CSNS”字样的含硼铝板验证。本文详细研究了0.5 mm直径波移光纤的光传输性能,对比了不同硅光电倍增管的增益和热噪声特性,并以此设计了有效面积为300 mm×300 mm的探测器工程样机。经测试,该探测器的位置分辨为1.2 mm×1.2 mm,探测效率为(61.8±0.2)%@0.4 nm,达到了工程设计指标,满足了CSNS工程微小角谱仪的中子衍射测量需求。     

闪烁光纤中宇宙线缪子的荧光光子计数测量

开展基于塑料闪烁光纤的宇宙线缪子测量研究时，对闪烁光纤输出光脉冲的光子数定量分析，是读出电子学设计的前提。在无单光子源等弱光标定时，对缪子入射事件在光纤中产生光脉冲的光子数进行定量分析是本文的主要目标。首先利用硅光电倍增管（Silicon Photomultiplier Tube,SiPM）固有的非光生载流子特性标定光脉冲的测量值，获得缪子在直径1 mm和2 mm光纤中产生微弱光脉冲包含的光子数；然后结合Geant4软件模拟计算缪子在光纤中理论光子产额，并与实验结果对比验证。结果显示，在直径1 mm和2 mm光纤中光脉冲光子期望值分别为44个和85个，与模拟结果偏差分别为4.55%和10.59%，表明该低光子数测量方法可以在无额外标定设备时，实现对缪子入射光纤产生光子数的准确测量，并可以应用在其他弱光脉冲光子数测量场景中。     

BESIII飞行时间探测器塑料闪烁体性能检测

北京谱议（BESIII）重大改造工程中飞行时间探测器所使用的各个塑料闪烁体需要严格测量和质量控制,包括机械尺寸、有效衰减长度和相对光产额。我们用宇宙线测量塑料闪烁体的衰减长度时,利用飞行时间探测器本身的时间信息重建出宇宙线的位置和方向,宇宙线在闪烁体上的光产额通过其两端光电倍增管的电荷信息来反应,这样测量的闪烁体的有效衰减长度统计量大、准确并且快速。检测结果表明,闪烁体的各项指标达到了的设计要求。     

BESⅢ飞行时间探测器塑料闪烁体性能检测

北京谱议(BESⅢ)重大改造工程中飞行时间探测器所使用的各个塑料闪烁体需要严格测量和质量控制,包括机械尺寸、有效衰减长度和相对光产额.我们用宇宙线测量塑料闪烁体的衰减长度时,利用飞行时间探测器本身的时间信息重建出宇宙线的位置和方向,宇宙线在闪烁体上的光产额通过其两端光电倍增管的电荷信息来反应,这样测量的闪烁体的有效衰减长度统计量大、准确并且快速.检测结果表明,闪烁体的各项指标达到了的设计要求.     

线性烷基苯的光衰减长度测量及光吸收性能的改进

线性直链烷基苯(linear alkyl benzene,LAB)具有较高的光子产额和较长的光衰减长度,且环境友好,是大亚湾中微子物理实验理想的液体闪烁溶剂。为使工业化生产的LAB符合大亚湾中微子实验的使用标准,我们研制了改进型的光衰减长度测量系统,测量了一系列LAB样品的光衰减长度。实验结果表明,样品的杂质组分的差异是导致LAB光衰减长度优劣的主要原因。我们改进了生产工艺流程,减少LAB的杂质组分浓度,满足了实验要求。     

大面积闪烁光纤阵列探测器的在束测试

利用70AMeV²⁶Mg初级束流及其产生的次级束流,在兰州重离子加速器放射性次级束流线（RIBLL）终端测试了大面积闪烁光纤阵列探测器(LASFA)探测单元的时间分辨和位置分辨能力。利用70AMeV²⁶Mg初级束流测试得到的时间分辨约为128ps,对应的位置分辨约为10mm;利用次级束流测试得到的时间分辨约为158ps,对应的位置分辨约为13mm,具有很好的时间分辨和空间角分辨能力。结合RIBLL的ΔESi探测器,给出了ΔE_Si-TOF二维谱,并将测试结果与RIBLL的粒子鉴别系统进行详细比较。结果表明,大面积闪烁光纤阵列作为轻带电粒子的飞行时间终止探测器,性能优于RIBLL上采用的时间拾取探测器,可更清楚地鉴别次级束流。     

小型智能程控SiPM电源设计与验证

硅光电倍增器(Silicon Photomultiplier,SiPM)作为一种新型光电转换器件,具有增益高(106量级)、功耗低(工作电流在μA量级)、体积小(mm量级)、工作电压低(小于100 V)等优点,相对于传统光电倍增管不受磁场影响。但SiPM存在增益受温度影响大的缺点,温度每上升10℃增益约下降5×105,对于能谱测量和辐射成像应用会产生较大影响。为此,研发了一款小型带电压补偿功能的SiPM专用高压电源模块,并使用能谱测试系统对SiPM的增益特性进行测试。通过不同温度条件下241Amγ能谱中全能峰峰位的对比,验证了电压补偿对于稳定SiPM增益的效果,从5℃到40℃最大增益漂移由补偿前的87.3%下降到了2.76%。这种增益漂移校正有助于拓宽SiPM的应用范围。     

基于LED纳秒级脉冲的SiPM阵列监测电路

环形正负电子对撞机（CEPC）电磁量能器（ECAL）原型机的探测单元采用硅光电倍增管（SiPM）作为光电转换器件。由于SiPM具有温度依赖性强和响应速度快的特点,需监测电路产生与SiPM响应速度相匹配的脉冲光激发SiPM,对其增益和动态范围进行监测。本文根据模拟仿真结果,设计了基于双NMOS的驱动电路和相应的控制电路,该电路驱动发光二极管（LED）发射纳秒级窄脉冲光,且强度可调。利用光电倍增管（PMT）测得单路LED发光时域特性,脉冲时间宽度约为10 ns。在CEPC ECAL电子学联测中,SiPM监测电路正常工作,批量测得ECAL原型机中SiPM的增益指标,满足原型机的自检需求。     

Study of PET Detector Performance with Varying SiPM Parameters and Readout Schemes

The spatial resolution performance characteristics of a monolithic crystal PET detector utilizing a sensor on the entrance surface (SES) design is reported. To facilitate this design, we propose to utilize a 2D silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array device. Using a multi-step simulation process, we investigated the performance of a monolithic crystal PET detector with different data readout schemes and different SiPM parameters. The detector simulated was a 49.2mm by 49.2mm by 15mm LYSO crystal readout by a 12 by 12 array of 3.8mm by 3.8mm SiPM elements. A statistics based positioning (SBP) method was used for event positioning and depth of interaction (DOI) decoding. Although individual channel readout provided better spatial resolution, row-column summing is proposed to reduce the number of readout channels. The SiPM parameters investigated include photon detection efficiency (PDE) and gain variability between different channels; PDE and gain instability; and dark count noise. Of the variables investigated, the PDE shift of -3.2±0.7% and gain shift of -4±0.9% between detector testing and detector calibration had the most obvious impact on the detector performance, since it not only degraded the spatial resolution but also led to bias in positioning, especially at the edges of the crystal. The dark count noise also had an impact on the intrinsic spatial resolution. No data normalization is required for PDE variability of up to 12% FWHM and gain variability of up to 15% FWHM between SiPM channels. Based upon these results, a row-column summing readout scheme without data normalization will be used. Further, we plan to cool our detectors below room temperature to reduce dark count noise and to actively control the temperature of the SiPMs to reduce drifts in PDE and gain.     

闪烁体耦合SiPM测量γ能谱的模拟研究

硅光电倍增管(Silicon photomultiplier,SiPM)是一种新型的光电探测器件,由工作在盖革模式下的雪崩二极管阵列组成。利用GEANT4蒙特卡罗软件包对LaBr_3:10%Ce~(3+)、Na I(TI)闪烁晶体耦合SiPM测量γ射线能谱进行了细致的模拟,通过单色光LED光源照射SiPM,得到SiPM自身暗电流噪声经电子学放大后,与集成的盖革雪崩二极管之间的间隙引起吸收光子涨落对能谱的展宽。对模拟得到的662 keVγ射线能量分辨率进行修正,最后与实验结果对比能够很好地符合,还得到了一组对应闪烁晶体本征能量分辨率的程序参数Pr,s。结果验证了模拟程序设置的闪烁晶体与封装材料光学参数的合理性与可靠性,为闪烁体探测器设计提供了一套开发工具。     

硅光电倍增器在剂量测量中的应用现状与前景

本文介绍了最近发展的新型硅光电倍增器(SiPM)在剂量测量中的应用现状和前景,分析了其暗计数率高(室温下0.1~10 MHz/mm~2)、对温度敏感、动态范围有限(通常只有2~3个量级)等问题。基于体积小、工作电压低、对磁场不敏感、增益高等特点,硅光电倍增器很适合代替传统的光电倍增管用于便携式剂量仪表。目前,利用脉冲幅度甄别、温度漂移实时修正的方法,可以有效地降低暗计数率高、温度敏感性的影响;但是,即便采用了符合测量、组合探测器等方法,测量范围仍然是限制SiPM在剂量测量应用的主要问题。     

Development of a compact DOI-TOF detector module for high-performance PET systems

To increase spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio in PET imaging,we present in this paper the design and performance evaluation of a PET detector module combining both depth-of-interaction(DOI) and time-offlight(TOF) capabilities.The detector module consists of a staggered dual-layer LYSO block with2 mm × 2 mm × 7 mm crystals.MR-compatible SiPM sensors(MicroFJ-30035-TSV,SensL) are assembled into an 8× 8 array.SiPM signals from both fast and slow outputs are read out by a 128-channel ASIC chip.To test its performance,a flood histogram is acquired with a ~(22)Na point source on top of the detector,and the energy resolution and the coincidence resolving time(CRT) value for each individual crystal are measured.The flood histogram shows excellent crystal separation in both layers.The average energy resolution at 511 keV is 14.0 and 12.7%at the bottom and top layers,respectively.The average CRT of a single crystal is 635 and 565 ps at the bottom and top layers,respectively.In conclusion,the compact DOI-TOF PET detector module is of excellent crystal identification capability,good energy resolution and reasonable time resolution and has promising application prospective in clinical TOF PET,PET/MRI,and brain PET systems.     

SiPM耦合LYSO晶体探测器的能量分辨和时间分辨

本文采用符合测量的方法研究了SENLE公司生产的型号为Micro FC-30035-SMT的Si PM光电转换器件耦合尺寸为3×3×10 mm的LYSO晶体组成的闪烁探测器的能量分辨率和时间分辨。该探测器测得22Na放射源能量为511 ke V光子的能量分辨率(FWHM)为16%,时间分辨达135 ps。     

一种基于SiPM的具有高能量分辨率的紧凑型溴化镧γ谱仪

基于光电倍增管(photomultiplier tube,简称PMT)的LaBr₃:Ce γ谱仪具有比NaI(Tl)γ谱仪更高的能量分辨率,但具有体积大、对磁场敏感、需要高电压等缺点。硅光电倍增管(Silicon photomultiplier tube,简称SiPM)具有与PMT相近的增益和效率,同时具有诸如高定时分辨率、抗磁场能力强、低偏压和紧凑尺寸等优良特性。本文将LaBr₃:Ce晶体与SiPM阵列耦合,设计研制基于SiPM的紧凑型LaBr₃:Ce γ谱仪,通过降噪、优化工作电压等措施改善SiPM的缺点对γ谱仪性能的影响。工作电压的噪声会导致能量分辨率发生恶化,通过设计无源滤波电路CLC π型滤波器,利用其对直/交流阻抗的不同特性,滤除高频纹波,工作电压的信噪比从未降噪前的62.6 dB提高到74.64 dB;能量分辨率最优值对应于表示暗噪声、串扰、光电探测效率和SiPM增益之间折衷的最佳工作电压。通过实验给出不同工作电压下的能量分辨率,确定最佳工作电压为54.8 V,该电压下的能量分辨率为3.06%(@662 keV),结果与使用光电倍增管(PMT)测量的2.89％非常接近。     

基于沿单层LYSO晶体阵列深度多层反射膜分布的深度编码PET探测器研究

本文提出了在单层LYSO晶体阵列中,采用沿晶体深度布局多层反射膜,并通过SiPM阵列单端读出,从而进行深度测量的PET探测器方法。制作了2个晶体大小为3 mm×3 mm×20 mm的2×2 LYSO晶体阵列,分别布局2层和4层反射膜,对该探测器性能的实验测量结果表明,此探测器可清楚区分所有晶体单元。对于布局2层反射膜的探测器,上下两层事件平均正确指定的概率为85.1%,4个不同深度事件的平均正确指定概率为65.5%;对于布局4层反射膜的探测器,4个不同深度事件的平均正确指定概率为74.8%。布局4层反射膜的探测器的深度分辨率优于布局2层反射膜的探测器。两个探测器的平均能量分辨率分别为18.0%和12.2%。这种可分辨γ射线与晶体作用点深度的新型PET探测器,可用于今后研发高性能脑专用、全身和全景PET成像系统。     

Some emission characteristics of scintillating fibers for lowenergy X and γ-rays

The characteristics of plastic scintillating fibers (PSF) are measured for X and γ photons in the energy range 5 keV to 1.5 MeV. It is shown that a very thin (50 μm) slit can be recorded with an array of very thin fibers having 50 μm diameter so that the main interaction mechanism is photoelectric absorption, instead of Compton scattering for low energy X-rays. The optical light attenuation, global efficiency and energy resolution have been measured for a system composed of 1 mm diameter fibers and a photomultiplier. An X-ray beam position detector is realized, using an intensified camera, allowing a 4% precision on the position. The effect of bending the fiber is also evaluated     

Monte-Carlo simulation to determine detector efficiency of plastic scintillating fiber

1 Introduction The plastic scintillating fiber (PSF) has many applications in different fields such as particle trackingin high-energy particle physics, calorimeters, etc., buusing PSF as an imaging detector is the main goal othis research. Therefore, we selected 10~400 keVmono-energy electromagnetic radiation that is used inmedical and non-medical imaging (e.g. non destructive testing). Some scintillation characteristics of plastic scintillating optic fiber have been discover…     

Phantom experiments on a PSAPD-based compact gamma camera with submillimeter spatial resolution for small animal SPECT

We demonstrate a position sensitive avalanche photodiode (PSAPD) based compact gamma camera for the application of small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The silicon PSAPD with a two-dimensional resistive layer and four readout channels is implemented as a gamma ray detector to record the energy and position of radiation events from a radionuclide source. A 2 mm thick monolithic CsI:Tl scintillator is optically coupled to a PSAPD with a 8mm×8mm active area, providing submillimeter intrinsic spatial resolution, high energy resolution (16% full-width half maximum at 140 keV) and high gain. A mouse heart phantom filled with an aqueous solution of 370 MBq (99m)Tc-pertechnetate (140 keV) was imaged using the PSAPD detector module and a tungsten knife-edge pinhole collimator with a 0.5 mm diameter aperture. The PSAPD detector module was cooled with cold nitrogen gas to suppress dark current shot noise. For each projection image of the mouse heart phantom, a rotated diagonal readout algorithm was used to calculate the position of radiation events and correct for pincushion distortion. The reconstructed image of the mouse heart phantom demonstrated reproducible image quality with submillimeter spatial resolution (0.7 mm), showing the feasibility of using the compact PSAPD-based gamma camera for a small animal SPECT system.