A 4×4 pixilated Silicon Photomultiplier for a multi-channel radiation monitoring

Due to an increase in the use of radiochemistry synthesis systems in Positron Emission Tomography (PET), there is a need for the development of a cost effective radiation detector which can measure localized radiation fields independent of temperature. In this experiment, a 4×4 pixilated Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) imaging sensor with optical fiber and scintillator has been designed and constructed for detecting the β and γ radiation in real-time. It consists of 16 × 1 mm diameter cylindrically shaped scintillators each connected to a single 1 mm diameter optical fiber. Each optical fiber is connected to a separate anode pixel of a 4×4 SiPM via a custom designed holder. In this design each optical fiber and scintillator can be a different length, increasing the flexibility of the system. Preliminary detection sensitivity results will be presented based on a GATE simulation. Various geometries are explored to optimize detection of a radiation point source. Due to the use of optical fiber with scintillator, long distance, real-time monitoring of radiation is possible. By using scintillator, temperature independent radiation monitoring near high and low temperature baths commonly found in radiochemistry systems is possible.