Gamma-ray momentum reconstruction from Compton electron trajectories by filtered back-projection

Journal Article · Mon Nov 03 04:00:00 EST 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4898087· OSTI ID:22310717

Plimley, B.; Pavlovsky, R. ^[1]; Gunter, D. ^[2]; Vetter, K. ^[1]

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1. Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California Berkeley, 4155 Etcheverry Hall, MC 1730, Berkeley, California 94720-1730 (United States)
2. Applied Nuclear Physics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

Gamma-ray imaging utilizing Compton scattering has traditionally relied on measuring coincident gamma-ray interactions to map directional information of the source distribution. This coincidence requirement makes it an inherently inefficient process. We present an approach to gamma-ray reconstruction from Compton scattering that requires only a single electron tracking detector, thus removing the coincidence requirement. From the Compton scattered electron momentum distribution, our algorithm analytically computes the incident photon's correlated direction and energy distributions. Because this method maps the source energy and location, it is useful in applications, where prior information about the source distribution is unknown. We demonstrate this method with electron tracks measured in a scientific Si charge coupled device. While this method was demonstrated with electron tracks in a Si-based detector, it is applicable to any detector that can measure electron direction and energy, or equivalently the electron momentum. For example, it can increase the sensitivity to obtain energy and direction in gas-based systems that suffer from limited efficiency.

• OSTI ID: 22310717
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 105; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ALGORITHMS
CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICES
COMPTON EFFECT
DISTRIBUTION
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SPECTRA
FILTERS
GAMMA RADIATION
PHOTONS
SENSITIVITY
SILICON
TRAJECTORIES