Position and energy resolution of a new gamma-ray detector based on a single CsI(Tl) scintillator coupled to a silicon drift chamber array

We have developed a first prototype of gamma-ray detector for imaging and spectroscopy which is based on a single CsI(Tl) scintillator coupled to a linear array of silicon drift chambers (SDCs). The detector performs the measurement of the position of interaction in one coordinate, by the centroid method, and the measurement of the /spl gamma/ photon energy, by summing the signals of all the single units. The small size and the compactness of the CsI(Tl)-SDC assembly make this detector scheme an interesting solution for the realization of small scintillation cameras for nuclear medicine.