Performance characteristics of a silicon photomultiplier based compact radiation detector for Homeland Security applications

A next-generation compact radiation detector was studied for more accurate measurement of radiation and for improvement of detector reliability for the purpose of developing radiation protection technology and military applications. The previously used radiation detector had some limitations due to its bulky size, limited range and its environment for radiation measurement. On the other hand, the compact radiation detector examined in this study utilizes a silicon photomultiplier which appears to be more suitable for this application because of its physical superiority characterized by its small size, high sensitivity, and durability. Accordingly, a SiPM based scintillation detector has been developed as part of this basic study of military radiation detectors. The detector has been tested for its ability to obtain the operating characteristics of a sensor and analyzed with variations of parameter values and for efficiency of detection in accordance with its ability to measure radiation in the environment. Two SiPM based Scintillation detectors with LYSO, BGO and CsI:Tl scintillators were developed and the detectors were analyzed by a number of operating characteristics such as reverse bias, operating temperature and high magnetic field, that depend on environmental changes in radiation measurement. The Photon count rate and spectra were compared for these three scintillators. We found that there were variations in the radiation detection which were characterized by reverse bias, temperature and high magnetic field. It was also found that there was an 11.9% energy resolution for the LYSO, 15.5% for BGO and 13.5% for CsI:Tl using Array SiPM, and 18% for CsI:Tl energy resolution using single SiPM when we measured energy resolution of 511 keV for 22Na. These results demonstrate the potential widespread use of SiPM based compact radiation detectors for Homeland Security applications.