• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.2572-2580
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• 2020

Emerging gamma ray detection applications that utilize neutron-based interrogation result in the prompt emission of high-energy (>2 MeV) gamma-rays. Rapid imaging is enabled by scintillators that possess high density, high atomic number, and excellent energy resolution. In this paper, we evaluate the bright (50,000 photons/MeV) oxide scintillator, cerium-doped Gd₂Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GAGG(Ce)). A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array is coupled to a GAGG(Ce) scintillator array (12 × 12 pixels) and integrated into a coded-aperture based gamma-ray imaging system. A resistor-based symmetric charge division circuit was used reduce the multiplicity of the analog outputs from 144 to 4. The developed system exhibits 9.1%, 8.3%, and 8.0% FWHM energy resolutions at 511 keV, 662 keV, and 1173.2 keV, respectively. In addition, a pixel-identification resolution of 602 ㎛ FWHM was obtained from the GAGG(Ce) scintillator array.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3133-3139
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• 2023

Neutron imaging technology as a means of non-destructive detection of materials is complementary to X-ray imaging. Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), a new type of optical readout device, has overcome some shortcomings of traditional photomultiplier tube (PMT), such as high-power consumption, large volume, high price, uneven gain response, and inability to work in strong magnetic fields. Its application in the field of neutron detection will be an irresistible general trend. In this paper, a thermal neutron imaging detector based on ⁶LiF/ZnS scintillation screen and SiPM array readout was developed. The design of the detector geometry was optimized by geant4 Monte Carlo simulation software. The optimized detector was evaluated with a step wedge sample. The results show that the detector prototype with a 48 mm × 48 mm sensitive area can achieve about 38% detection efficiency and 0.26 mm position resolution when using a 300 ㎛ thick ⁶LiF/ZnS scintillation screen and a 2 mm thick Bk7 optical guide coupled with SiPM array, and has good neutron imaging capability. It provides effective data support for developing high-performance imaging detectors applied to the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.648-654
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• 2023

A dual-particle imager (DPI) is configured in a hand-held form factor, then one can efficiently and conveniently deploy the DPI to detect the presence of special nuclear materials (SNM) and identify any isotopic variations that differ from their natural abundances. Here we show that by maximizing the areal coupling between a pixelated scintillator array and the partitioned photosensor readout such as a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), the information utilization of the gamma-ray and neutron information in the radiation field can be enhanced, thus enabling one to rapidly acquire spatial maps of the distributions on gamma-ray and neutron emitters.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.456-460
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• 2020

In this research, a radiation detection backpack to be used discreetly or by a wide range of users was developed using array silicon-photomultiplier (SiPM) and CsI (Tl), and its characteristics were evaluated. The R-squared value, which indicates the responsiveness of a detector based on the signal intensity, was determined to be 0.981, indicating a good linear responsivity. The energy resolutions for gamma radiation energies of Co-57 (122 keV), Ba-133 (356 keV), Cs-137 (662 keV), and Co-60 (1332 keV) were found to be 13.40, 10.50, 6.77, and 3.16%, respectively. These results confirm good energy resolution characteristics. Furthermore, in the case of mixed sources, the gamma radiation peaks were readily distinguishable, and the R-squared value for energy linearity was calculated to be 0.999, demonstrating an exceptional energy linearity. Further research based on the results of this study would enable the commercialization of lightweight SiPM-based wireless radiation detection backpacks that can be used for longer durations by replacing the photomultiplier tube, which is mainly used as the optical sensor in existing radiation detection backpacks.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1091-1097
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• 2019

After the Fukushima accident in 2011, there has been increased public concern about radioactive contamination of water resources through fallout in neighboring countries. However, there is still no available initial response system that can promptly detect radionuclides. The purpose of this research is to develop the most efficient gamma spectrometer to monitor radionuclides in an aquatic environment. We chose a thallium-doped sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) scintillator readout with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) due to its compactness and low operating voltage. Three types of a scintillation detector were tested. One was composed of a scintillator and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) as a reference; another system consisted of a scintillator and an array of SiPMs with a light guide; and the other was a scintillator directly coupled with an array of SiPMs. Among the SiPM-based detectors, the direct coupling system showed the best energy resolution at all energy peaks. It achieved 9.76% energy resolution for a 662 keV gamma ray. Through additional experiments and a simulation, we proved that the light guide degraded energy resolution with increasing statistical uncertainty. The results indicated that the SiPM-based scintillation detector with no light guide is the most efficient design for monitoring radionuclides in an aquatic environment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.164-169
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• 2020

Use of SiPM has been considered as an alternative to PMT, because of its compact size, low-operating voltage, non-sensitive to electromagnetic, low costs and so on. The main limitation for the use of SiPM is due to its small sensitive area compared to PMT that limits the light collection, and therefore the sensor energy resolution. In this article we studied the effect of increasing the number of SiPM by connecting them in parallel to increase the active detection area. This allowed us to compare the different energy resolution measurements. ¹³⁷Cs has been selected as reference to study the energy resolution for 662 keV gamma-rays. Another investigation was to compare the minimum detectable gamma energy under various SiPM configurations. It has been found that the use of 4 SiPM arrays can greatly improve the energy resolution up to 4% than only one SiPM array, meanwhile use of more than 2 SiPM arrays does not increase the energy resolution significantly. Thus we can conclude that for a large area of cylindrical scintillator (3 × 3 inches), the use of SiPMs are limited to a certain number or certai active area depending on the commercial SiPMs, and its cost should be less than traditional PMT for the cost-effective and compact size considerations. It is well known that the gain of SiPM varies with temperature. In this article, we also calibrated gain to guarantee the same position of photoelectric peak in response of different temperatures.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.324-329
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• 2015

A decreased number of readout method is investigated to provide precise pixel information for small-animal positron emission tomography (PET). Small-animal PET consists of eight modules, and each module is composed of a $6{\times}6$ array of $2{\times}2{\times}20mm^3$ lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO) crystals optically coupled to a $4{\times}4$ array of $3{\times}3mm^2$ silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The number of readout channels is reduced by one-quarter that of the conventional method by applying a simplified row and column matrix algorithm. The performance of the PET system and detector module was evaluated with Geant4 Application for Emission Tomography (GATE) 6.1 and DETECT2000 simulations. In the results, all pixels of the $6{\times}6$ LYSO array were decoded well, and the spatial resolution and sensitivity, respectively, of the PET system were 1.75 mm and 4.6% (@ center of field of view, energy window: 350-650 keV).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1760-1768
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• 2022

When gamma-camera sensor modules, which are key components of radiation imagers, are derived from the coupling between scintillators and photosensors, the light collection efficiency is an important factor in determining the effectiveness with which the instrument can identify nuclides via their derived gamma-ray spectra. If the pixel area of the scintillator is larger than the pixel area of the photosensor, light loss and cross-talk between pixels of the photosensor can result in information loss, thereby degrading the precision of the energy estimate and the accuracy of the position-of-interaction determination derived from each active pixel in a coded-aperture based gamma camera. Here we present two methods to overcome the information loss associated with the loss of photons created by scintillation pixels that are coupled to an associated silicon photomultiplier pixel. Specifically, we detail the use of either: (1) light guides, or (2) scintillation pixel areas that match the area of the SiPM pixel. Compared with scintillator/SiPM couplings that have slightly mismatched intercept areas, the experimental results show that both methods substantially improve both the energy and spatial resolution by increasing light collection efficiency, but in terms of the image sensitivity and image quality, only slight improvements are accrued.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2564-2571
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• 2022

SiPMs are generally coupled into whole columns in gamma energy spectrum measurement, but the relationship between the distribution of whole SiPM columns and the energy resolution of the measured energy spectra is rarely reported. In this work, ∅ 3 × 3 inch NaI scintillator is placed on an 8 × 8 SiPM array, and the energy resolution of the ¹³⁷Cs peak at 662 keV corresponding to the γ-ray is selected as a reference. Each SiPM is switched to explore the influence of the number of SiPM arrays, distribution position, and reflective layer on the energy resolution of SiPMs. Results show that without coupling, the energy resolution is greatly improved when the number of SiPMs ranges from 4 to 32. However, after 32 slices (the area covered by SiPMs relative to the scintillator reaches 25.9%), the improvement in energy resolution and total pulse count is not obvious. In addition, the position of SiPMs relative to the scintillator does not exert much impact on the energy resolution. Results also indicate that by adding a reflective film (ESR), the energy resolution of the tested group increases by 10.38% on average. This work can provide a reference for the design and application of miniaturized SiPM gamma spectrometers.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1677-1686
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• 2023

As the demand for the detection of special nuclear materials (SNMs) increases, the use of imaging instruments that can sensitively image both gamma-ray and neutron signatures has become necessary. This study compared the pulse shape discrimination (PSD) performance of gamma/neutron events when employing either a pixelated stilbene or a plastic (EJ-276) scintillator array coupled to a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array in a dual-particle imager. The stilbene array allowed a lower energy threshold above which neutron and gamma-ray events can be clearly distinguished. A greater number of events can, therefore, be used when forming both gamma-ray and neutron images, which shortens the time required to acquire the images by nearly seven times.