DoI position resolution in a continuous LaBr3(Ce) scintillation crystal for γ-ray imaging

A Monte Carlo simulation of a continuous crystal has been developed to investigate the correlation between the scintillation light width (σ) and the Depth of Interaction (DoI) within the crystal. Our studies are based on a LaBr3(Ce) crystal, in order to take advantage of its high light yield to reduce the statistic uncertainties on the estimators of the σ. The first one, the standard deviation of the light distribution, has demonstrated a poor, though linear, correlation to DoI, that is not experimentally detectable. Otherwise, the second estimator, , is the ratio of the total number of photoelectrons to the maximum number of photoelectrons collected from a single anode, in a scintillation event. has been found to have the best correlation to DoI, that provides 2 mm resolution.