Low power implementation of high frequency SiPM readout for Cherenkov and scintillation detectors in TOF-PET

Journal Article · Mon Sep 26 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Physics in Medicine and Biology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/ac8963· OSTI ID:2470717

Cates, Joshua W. ^[1]; Choong, Woon-Seng ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

State-of-the-art (SoA) electronic readout for silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)-based scintillation detectors that demonstrate experimental limits in achievable coincidence time resolution (CTR) leverage low noise, high frequency signal processing to facilitate a single photon time response that is near the limit of the SiPMs architecture. This readout strategy can optimally exploit fast luminescence and prompt photon populations, and promising measurements show detector concepts employing this readout can greatly advance PET detector CTR, relative to SoA in clinical systems. However, the technique employs power hungry components which make the electronics chain impractical for channel-dense time-of-flight (TOF)-PET detectors. We have developed and tested a low noise and high frequency readout circuit which is performant at low power and consists of discrete elements with small footprints, making it feasible for integration into TOF-PET detector prototypes. A 3 × 3 mm² Broadcom SiPM with this readout chain exhibited sub-100 ps single photon time resolution at 10 mW of power consumption, with a relatively minor performance degradation to 120 ± 2 ps FWHM at 5 mW. CTR measurements with 3 × 3 × 20 mm³ LYSO and fast LGSO scintillators demonstrated 127 ± 3 ps and 113 ± 2 ps FWHM at optimal power operation and 133 ± 2 ps and 121 ± 3 ps CTR at 5 mW. BGO crystals 3 × 3 × 20 mm³ in size show 271 ± 5 ps FWHM CTR (1174 ± 14 ps full-width-at-tenth-maximum (FWTM)) at optimal power dissipation and 289 ± 8 ps (1296 ± 33 ps FWTM) at 5 mW. The compact and low power readout topology that achieves this performance thereby offers a platform to greatly advance PET system CTR and also opportunities to provide high performance TOF-PET at reduced material cost.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Institutes of Health (NIH); USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 2470717
• Journal Information: Physics in Medicine and Biology, Journal Name: Physics in Medicine and Biology Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 67; ISSN 0031-9155
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Cherenkov detectors
coincidence time resolution
engineering
high frequency readout
low power readout
radiology
nuclear medicine & medical imaging
scintillation detectors
silicon photomultipliers
time-of-flight PET