Metascintillator development and analysis

We are pioneering the development of meta-scintillators, the composite topologies of scintillating and light-guiding materials, arranged to produce a synergistic effect at some step of the scintillation process, from gamma absorption to light detection, combining thus the favourable physical characteristics of their constituting components. In this research, we have simulated, developed, tested and analyzed several first-generation scintillating heterostructures composed of LYSO, BGO, BaF₂ and organic compounds. At the same time, we have developed wave and particle simulating routines to develop optical gratings and photonic crystal slab designs with the potential to guide scintillating light with unprecedented precision.

Given the particularity of photon production time-series of metascintillators, we have developed a set of correction algorithms to improve measured energy and time resolution, and several analytic and applied ways to estimate per event energy sharing. We have reached a coincidence time resolution (CTR) of 204 ps with a BGO:EJ232 3:1 structure, where 10% of the events reach down to 50 ps. Similarly, we demonstrate a CTR of 240 ps with a BGO:BaF₂ 1:1 structure, with 13% of the events at 108 ps. To perform this research we have developed several read-out circuits with one of the best achieved CTR resolution values in the world, at room temperature, while we also present zero-consumption systems with good specifications, applicable for highly integrated scaled-up systems.