Optimizing timing performance of silicon photomultiplier based scintillation detectors

Precise timing resolution is crucial for applications requiring time-of-flight (ToF) information such as ToF positron emission tomography (PET). Silicon photomulipliers (SiPM) for PET, with their high output capacitance, are known to require custom preamplifiers to maximize timing performance. In this paper, we prove that simple alternative front-end electronics based on a commercial low-noise RF preamplifier can achieve excellent timing resolution. Two radiation detectors with L(Y)SO:Ce scintillators coupled to Hamamatsu SiPMs (MPPC S10362-33-050C) and front-end electronics based on an RF amplifier (MAR-3SM+), have been fabricated. These detectors were used to detect annihilation gamma photons from a Ge-68 source and the output signals were subsequently digitized by a high speed oscilloscope for offline processing. A coincident resolving time (CRT) of 125 ± 2 ps, 147 ± 3 ps and 186 ± 3 ps FWHM with 2 × 2 × 3 mm³ 3 × 3 × 5 mm³ and 3 × 3 × 20 mm³ sized L(Y)SO crystals were measured respectively.