First photoelectron timing error evaluation of a new scintillation detector model

A general timing system model for a scintillation detector developed by Hero et al. (1990) was experimentally evaluated. The detector consists of a scintillator and a photodetector such as a photomultiplier tube (PMT) or an avalanche photodiode. The model uses a Poisson point process to characterize the light output from the scintillator. This timing model was used to simulate a bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillator with a Burle 8575 PMT using first photoelectron timing detection. Evaluation of the model consisted of comparing the root-mean-square error from the simulations with the error from the actual detector system. It is found that the general model compares well with the actual error results for the BGO/8575 PMT detector