RECENT RESULTS IN SCINTILLATION DETECTION WITH SILICON AVALANCHE PHOTODIODES

We report on the investigation of silicon avalanche photodiodes in scintillation detection for potential applications in medical imaging and nuclear spectroscopy. Experimental measurements were performed on BGO, CdWO4, plastic, NaI(T1) and CsI(T1) scintillators, geometrically optimized for light collection. Results show the advantages of a solid state photodetector having an internal gain for the detection of low energy gamma and X-rays. When coupled to CsI(T1), X-ray energies as low as 5.9 keV can be discriminated from the noise. Copyright © 1990 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.