Fast timing study of a CeBr3 crystal: Time resolution below 120 ps at 60Co energies

We report on the time response of a novel inorganic scintillator, CeBr3. The measurements were performed using a cylindrical crystal of 1-in. in height and 1-in. in diameter at 22Na and 60Co photon energies. The time response was measured against a fast reference BaF2 detector. Hamamatsu R9779 and Photonis XP20D0 fast photomultipliers (PMTs) were used. The PMT bias voltages and Constant Fraction Discriminator settings were optimized with respect to the timing resolution. The Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) time resolution for an individual CeBr3 crystal coupled to Hamamatsu PMT is found here to be as low as 119 ps at 60Co energies, which is comparable to the resolution of 107 ps reported for LaBr3(Ce). For 511 keV photons the measured FWHM time resolution for CeBr3 coupled to the Hamamatsu PMT is 164 ps.