Cherenkov light contribution to Hamamatsu S8148 and zinc sulfide–silicon avalanche photodiodes signals

Scintillation crystal–avalanche photodiode (APD) system is an important radiation detection technique. The lead tungstate ( PbWO 4 ) is one of the scintillation crystal used in high-energy physics experiments. The light generated in the PbWO 4 crystal could be split into scintillation and Cherenkov components. GEANT4 simulation of the light generated by high-energy particles in the PbWO 4 crystal shows that up to 20% of the light generated in the crystals is a result of the Cherenkov mechanism. The mean signals of the APDs were simulated by Single Particle Monte Carlo technique for the incident light produced in the PbWO 4 crystal. The results show that the Cherenkov light contribution to the total signal is more than 20% for both the Hamamatsu S8148 and ZnS–Si APD structures placed at end of the crystal.