Timing by silicon photomultiplier: A possible application for TOF measurements

Abstract The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is intrinsically a very fast device, its single photoelectron timing resolution is about 100 ps FWHM. Therefore real timing properties of the system scintillator+SiPM is determined mostly by timing properties of the scintillator+light collection system. We present the experimental results for timing properies of SiPM+scintillator (or Cherenkov radiator) for two cases: (1) timing resolution in a few GeV electron beam with fast plastic scintillator or Cherenkov radiator+SiPMs with a size of 1×1 mm 2 and 3×3 mm 2 and (2)time-of-flight resolution for detection of 511 KeV photons by two LSO crystals+SiPM (3×3 mm 2 ), as a possible application for PET.