Optical design considerations and constraints for implementation of Silicon photomultiplier as a light sensor

Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel photosensor technology. This paper presents the design optimization process for implementing this technology in a scintillator based radiation detectors. The device provides the advantages of low current consumption, small dimensions, and high gain. These properties make the SiPM of great interest for applications involving portable instrumentation. However, a novel approach to establish a set of parameters and their limits is required to optimize performance of this new technology in radiation detection applications. The trade-offs and the influence of factors, such as Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE), dynamic range (DR), various scintillation crystal characteristics, and light reflecting materials, are discussed. This study investigated the incorporation of CsI(Tl) scintillation crystals with SiPM, based on measurements and results for different photo-coupling configurations and the obtained achievements are described. A method for evaluating the photon collection efficiency for Scintillator-SiPM based detectors is proposed.