Hamamatsu S8550 APD arrays for high-resolution scintillator matrices readout

The performance of Hamamatsu S8550 avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays for scintillator matrices readout has been evaluated. The S8550 device is a monolithic 8 X 4 pixels structure with an active area of 2.56 mm² for each pixel. The device allows stable operation at gains up to 74, with a detection efficiency of about 60% for photons of 420 nm wavelength. It is characterized by a low noise equal to 27 electrons equivalent noise charge at room temperature. The energy resolution of 14.6%, for the 511 keV peak from ²2;Na source has been recorded with a 2 x 2 x 10 mm³ LSO crystal coupled to one pixel. The number of electron-hole pairs produced by the 511 keV photopeak absorbed in LSO is equal to 4830 ± 240 e-h/MeV. Coupling LSO scintillator crystals to individual pixels of the APD array a coincidence timing resolution of 3.0 ± 0.2ns FWHM has been measured for the 511 keV b3;-rays from a ²2;Na source. Finally, we compared the characteristics and readout performance of the Hamamatsu array with the results measured earlier under the same conditions for the quadrant large area avalanche photodiodes of Advanced Photonics Inc.