Abstract
The title of the project is: "Development of innovative scintillation detectors for future particle colliders and medical imaging". This project aims at developing technological solutions to be adopted for calorimeters operating at future HEP experiments. The goal of this project is to study scintillator materials that will be able to cope with the harsh environment in which calorimeters will have to operate in the future at particle colliders. Strong radiation tolerance, high granularity, capability to operate at extreme rates, and precise spatial and timing resolutions, well beyond the limits of current detectors, will be mandatory for the success of future experiments. We plan to identify and characterise inorganic scintillating crystals, like GAGG, PbWO and BGSO, with the necessary resistance to radiation, and provide high light yield with short scintillation times. Accurate simulation of the experimental conditions and crystal properties will serve to identify the most promising materials. Then, thorough characterisation will follow, also building small prototypes of homogeneous and sampling calorimeters to be tested on various particle beam lines. Moreover, starting from existing large-area picosecond photodetectors (LAPPDs), the project aims to design and develop devices specifically optimised for picosecond timing measurements within a calorimeter detector. Finally, building on top of the gained experience and developed technology, the project will investigate the innovative use of selected scintillating materials and detection techniques, along with the use of LAPPDs as photodetectors, for improving the time-of-flight (TOF) measurements in PET devices for medical imaging. 1. Development and characterisation of scintillating materials. 1.1: Optimisation of inorganic crystal compositions (GAGG, BGSO, PbWO) in collaboration with industrial manufactures, for HEP and TOP-PET applications. 1.2 Characterisation studies of crystal samples (GAGG, BGSO, PbWO). 2: Electronics and picosecond timing photodetectors. 2.1 Design and commissioning of LAPPDs models specifically optimised for timing measurements in HEP experiments and TOF-PET scanners. 2.2 Characterisation in the laboratory of developed LAPPDs and other PMTs necessary to the project, including lifetime studies of MCP wafers . 3: Calorimetry for high-luminosity and high-energy colliders. 3.1: Irradiation studies of all the relevant components (crystal samples, LAPPD, PMTs). 3.2: Design, construction and commissioning of small SPACAL GAGG prototypes (with and without integrated LAPPD) and dual-readout prototypes of BGSO and PbWO homogeneous calorimeters. 3.3: Characterisation of all prototypes in beam tests. 4: Medical imaging 4.1: Optimisation of BGSO and GAGG geometry for TOF-PET scanners. 4.2: Study of the application of LAPPD detectors to TOF-PET scanners and comparison to other PMTs. 4.3: Realisation and characterisation of small prototypes of TOF-PET scanners.
Project details
Unibo Team Leader: Fabio Ferrari
Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia "Augusto Righi"
Coordinator:
INFN-Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare(Italy)
Total Unibo Contribution: Euro (EUR) 18.288,00
Project Duration in months: 24
Start Date:
28/09/2023
End Date:
28/02/2026
