Water Phantom Characterization of a Novel Optical Fiber Sensor for LDR Brachytherapy
A short review about portable didactic PET system for high-level education
Background removal procedure based on the SNIP algorithm for γ-ray spectroscopy with the CAEN Educational Kit
In gamma spectra the energy, the intensity and the number of resolved photo peaks depend on the detector resolution and the background from physics processes. A widely used method for subtracting the background under a photopeak is provided by the Sensitive Nonlinear Iterative Peak (SNIP) algorithm. This paper reports a validation procedure of the SNIP algorithm, based on the invariance of the photo-peak area for different background levels.
A simple and robust method to study after-pulses in Silicon Photomultipliers
The after-pulsing probability in Silicon Photomultipliers and its time constant are obtained measuring the mean number of photo-electrons in a variable time window following a light pulse. The method, experimentally simple and statistically robust due to the use of the Central Limit Theorem, has been applied to an HAMAMATSU MPPC S10362-11-100C.
An Educational Kit Based on Modular Silicon Photomultiplier System
Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPM) are state of the art light detectors with unprecedented single photon sensitivity and photon number resolving capability, representing a breakthrough in several fundamental and applied Science domains. An educational experiment based on a SiPM set-up is proposed in this article, guiding the student towards a comprehensive knowledge of this sensor technology while experiencing the quantum nature of light and exploring the statistical properties of the light pulses emitted by a LED
The EasyPET: a novel concept for an educational cost-effective positron emission 2D scanner
The EasyPET concept proposed here, protected under a patent by the University of Aveiro, aims to realize a simple and affordable small dimension Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner. This innovative system is based on a single pair of detectors and a rotating mechanism with two degrees of freedom reproducing the functionalities of an entire PET ring. A 2D imaging prototype has been designed, commissioned and engineered, targeted to high level education for physics, engineering and nuclear medicine students. In this paper the performance of the prototype is reported, with a focus on the imaging capability and on the measurement of the uncertainty in the reconstruction of the source position. In addition, a detailed analysis is dedicated to the slice sensitivity and in particular to the effect of the energy threshold on the coincidence event selection.
Silicon Photomultipliers and SPAD imagers in biophotonics: Advances and perspectives
Photonics is essential in life science research and the continuous development of methods offers researchers tools of unprecedented sensitivity. Sensors are key to the exploitation of the most advanced biophotonic techniques with highly demanding specifications in terms of single photon sensitivity, time resolution, miniaturisation real-time processing and data throughput. Silicon photomultipliers and Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) imagers represent the state-of-the-art in photon detection with single photon sensitivity, photon number resolving capability and the possibility to integrate on chip advanced functionalities. As a consequence, they can be the platform for the next generation biophotonic instruments and methods. This paper summarises the main biophotonic techniques and reports exemplary applications of Silicon Photomultipliers and SPAD imagers for fluorescence, chemiluminescence, time correlated single photon counting and imaging. Achievements and current limitations are addressed, pointing as well to the most recent technology advances and highlighting the possible pathways for the near future.
CAEN Educational: Nuclear and Particle Physics Experiments
CAEN S.p.A., an important industrial spin-off of the INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics), is pleased to present its new activities in the educational field. CAEN brings the experience acquired in almost 40 years of collaboration with the High Energy & Nuclear Physics community into the university educational laboratories by providing modern physics experiments based on the latest technologies and instrumentation. CAEN has realized different modular Educational Kits, all based on Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) state of-the-art light sensors with single photon sensitivity and unprecedented photon number resolving capability. They have proven to be suitable for an increasing number of applications in science and industry. The main goal is to inspire students and guide them towards the analysis and comprehension of different physics phenomena with a series of experiments based on state-of-the art technologies, instruments and methods.
Training Future Engineers to Be Ghostbusters: Hunting for the Spectral Environmental Radioactivity
Although environmental radioactivity is all around us, the collective public imagination often associates a negative feeling to this natural phenomenon. To increase the familiarity with this phenomenon we have designed, implemented, and tested an interdisciplinary educational activity for pre-collegiate students in which nuclear engineering and computer science are ancillary to the comprehension of basic physics concepts.
Characterisation of SiPMs
Silicon photomultipliers, thanks to their excellent performance, robustness and relatively simple use, are the photon-detectors of choice for many present and future applications. This paper gives an overview of methods to characterise SiPMs. The different SiPM parameters are introduced and generic setups for their determination presented. Finally, ways to extract the parameters from the measurements are discussed and the results shown. If a parameter can be obtained from different measurements, the results are compared and recommendations given, which is considered to be the most reliable. The characterisation of SiPMs, in particular for high light intensities and in high radiation fields, is presently a field of intensive research with many open questions and problems which will be discussed.
