A Monte Carlo study of the timing resolution of BaF/sub 2/ for TOF PET

A Monte Carlo study of the timing resolution of small BaF/sub 2/ crystals for time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) is presented. The interaction of 511-keV gammas, the emission and transport of ultraviolet light in the crystal, and the pulse formation in the photomultiplier are simulated. The individual contributions to the timing resolution and the overall effect are calculated and compared to experimental measurements. It is found that for small crystal lengths the choice of photomultiplier can have strong effect on the resolution.<
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