Scintillation Detectors

Introduction
Components
Scintillator
Light Guides
Photomultiplier Tubes
Formalism/Electronics
Timing Resolution

Elton Smith JLab 2006 Detector/Computer Summer Lecture

Series
Experiment basics
B field ~ 5/3 T p = 0.3 B R = 1.5 GeV/c

L = ½  R = 4.71 m

 = p/√p2+m2 = 0.9957

 = p/√p2+m2 = 0.9496
R = 3m

t = L/c = 15.77 ns

t = L/c = 16.53 ns

tK = 0.76 ns
Particle Identification by time-of-flight (TOF) requires
Measurements with accuracies of ~ 0.1 ns
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
Measure the Flight Time between two
Scintillators 450 ns Particle Trajectory

Stop 20
Disc cm

Start TDC
Disc

300
cm

cm
0
40
100
cm

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Propagation velocities
 c = 30 cm/ns

 vscint = c/n = 20 cm/ns t ~ 0.1 ns

x ~ 3 cm
 veff = 16 cm/ns

 vpmt = 0.6 cm/ns

 vcable = 20 cm/ns

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

TOF scintillators stacked for
shipment

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

CLAS detector open for repairs

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

CLAS detector with FC pulled apart

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Start counter assembly

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Scintillator types
 Organic  Inorganic

 Liquid  Anthracene
 Economical  Unused standard
 messy
 NaI, CsI
 Solid
 Excellent  resolution
 Fast decay time
 Slow decay time
 long attenuation length
 Emission spectra
 BGO
 High density, compact

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Photocathode spectral response

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Scintillator thickness

 Minimizing material vs. signal/background

 CLAS TOF: 5 cm thick

 Penetrating particles (e.g. pions) loose 10 MeV
 Start counter: 0.3 cm thick
 Penetrating particles loose 0.6 MeV
 Photons, e+e− backgrounds ~ 1MeV contribute
substantially to count rate
 Thresholds may eliminate these in TOF
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
Light guides

 Goals
 Match (rectangular) scintillator to (circular) pmt
 Optimize light collection for applications

 Types
 Plastic
 Air
 None
 “Winston” shapes

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Reflective/Refractive boundaries

Scintillator acrylic PMT glass

n = 1.58 n = 1.5

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Reflective/Refractive boundaries
Air with
reflective
boundary
Scintillator PMT glass
n = 1.58 n = 1.5

2
1 n 
Rair    4  5%
1 n 
(reflectance at normal incidence)

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Reflective/Refractive boundaries

air
Scintillator PMT glass
n = 1.58 n = 1.5

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Reflective/Refractive boundaries

Scintillator acrylic
n = 1.58
PMT glass
n = 1.5

Large-angle
ray lost

Acceptance of incident rays at fixed angle depends

on position at the exit face of the scintillator

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Winston Cones - geometry

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Winston Cone - acceptance

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Photomultiplier tube, sensitive light
meter Gain ~ 10 - 10 6 7

Electrodes
Anode


e−

Photocathode
Dynodes

56 AVP pmt
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
 Voltage Dividers
g
k Equal Steps – Max Gain a
d1 d2 d3 dN-2 dN-1 dN

4 2.5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 RL

16.5
−HV Progressive +HV

6 2.5 1 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.75 2.5 3.5 4.5 8 10 RL

44 Linearity
Timing
Intermediate
4 2.5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.4 1.6 3 2.5 RL

21

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Voltage
Divider
Capacitors for increased
linearity in
pulsed applications

Active components
to minimize changes
to timing and rate
capability with HV

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

High voltage

 Positive (cathode at ground)

 low noise, capacitative coupling

 Negative
 Anode at ground (no HV on signal)

 No (high) voltage
 Cockcroft-Walton bases

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Effect of magnetic field on pmt

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Housing

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Compact UNH divider design

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Dark counts
Solid : Sea level

Dashed: 30 m underground

After-pulsing and
Glass radioactivity

Thermal
Noise Cosmic rays

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Signal for passing tracks

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Single photoelectron signal

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Pulse distortion in cable

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Electronics
anode

dynode

trigger

Measure time
Measure pulse height
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
 Formalism: Measure time and
position
PL PR

TL TR
X=0 X
X=−L/2 X=+L/2

TL  TL0  x / veff TR  TR0  x / veff

1 1
Tave  (TL  TR )  (TL0  TR0 )
2 2
Mean is independent of x!

x
veff
2
 (TL  TR )  (TL0  TR0 )  veff
2
(TL  TR )

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

 From single-photoelectron timing to
counter resolution
The uncertainty in determining the passage of a particle
through a scintillator has a statistical component, depending
on the number of photoelectrons Npe that create the pulse.
2 2
  (  L / 2)
 TOF (ns )   02  1 P
N pe  1000
N pe  exp( L / 2 )

 0  0.062 ns Intrinsic timing of electronic circuits


Single  1  2.1 ns Combined scintillator and pmt response
Photoelectron
Response  P  0.0118 ns / cm Average path length variations in scintillator

  134cm  0.36  L (15cm counters)

  430 cm (22 cm counters)
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors Note: Parameters for CLAS
Average time resolution

CLAS in Hall B

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Formalism: Measure energy loss

PL PR

TL TR
X=0 X
X=−L/2 X=+L/2

PL  PL0 e  x /  PR  PR0 e x / 

0 0
Energy  PL  PR  PL  PR
Geometric mean is independent of x!
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
Energy deposited in scintillator

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Uncertainties
Timing

Assume that one pmt measures a time with uncertainty t

1 2 2 t
 t ave  tL  tR ~
2 2
1 2 2 t
 x  (veff  )  t L   t R ~ veff 
2 2
Mass Resolution
E 1  2  2
m  m 2  (1   2 ) E 2  p
  2 
 
2 2 2
 m  4     p 
        
 m     p
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
Example: Kaon mass resolution by TOF
PK  1 GeV /c E K  0.4952  1  1.116 GeV
 PK   EK 
K     0.896 K     2.26
 EK   mK 
 500 cm 
For a flight path of d = 500 cm, t     18.6 ns
 0.896  30 cm/ns 
 p
Assume  t  0.15 ns    0.01
 p 
2 2
 m  4  0.15 
   0.01  0.042   m K ~ 21 MeV
2 2
   2 .26 
 m  18.6 
 m    
Note:    2  
   for fixed 
 m 
  
Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors
Velocity vs. momentum

+

K+

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors

Summary

 Scintillator counters have a few simple

components
 Systems are built out of these counters
 Fast response allows for accurate timing

 The time resolution required for particle

identification is the result of the time
response of individual components
scaled by √Npe

Elton Smith / Scintillation Detectors