Coincident Detection of Cherenkov Light from Higher Energetic Electrons Using Silicon Photomultipliers

Due to their very fast signal rise time in the order of 1 ns, Silicon-Photomultipliers have become of increasing interest for many experiments that require very good timing resolution. With the prospect of an application in medical imaging techniques like a Compton Camera or TOF-PET, a coincident detection of Cherenkov photons from electrons in the MeV range in PMMA has been performed. A 4x4 SiPM-array was used for this purpose and a timing resolution of 242 ps has been achieved. A spatial sensitivity for an electron source location could be shown using accumulated coincident light signals. Obtained results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations taking fundamental detector and set-up properties into account. These measurements constitute an important step towards the feasibility of a successful electron detection in a Compton Camera.