Intrinsic time resolution and efficiency characterization for two size of BC-404 plastic scintillators studies in Geant4

Abstract

The time resolution (TR) is one of the most important characteristic of a detector. For the case of a scintillator, the collection of light also is important, it depends of the effective area of the photo-sensor (\textit{Scorer}). The Photomultipliers Tubes (PMTs), normally, have an effective area greater than the Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), however, due to its voltage of operation, their size or cost, in some cases it can be difficult to work with them. In which case, it is preferable to use SiPMs. The value of TR also depends of the size and geometry of the scintillator, number of photo-sensors and the electronic part.\\ In this work, we study the mean optical photon arrival time distribution (AT) to a Scorer from a SiPM of 6$\times$6~mm$^2$. We define the variation of AT as \textit{the intrinsic time resolution} (ITR). In Geant4, we simulated two different geometries: square and hexagonal, for a BC-404 plastic scintillator coupled to one Scorer. The sources simulated were Sr$^{90}$, Co$^{60}$, Cs$^{137}$, Na$^{22}$ and $\mu^-$ of 1~GeV. It is shown that AT and ITR depends of the geometry and size of the plastic scintillator, the location of the Scorer, the incident particle and its energy. Then, the ITR and therefore the TR is not a constant for a detector. Finally, we show the relation between AT and the deposited energy by the particle incident, which are related in the experiment to the response time event of the detector and the deposited charge by the incident particle, respectively.