Effects of the Super Bialkali Photocathode on the Performance Characteristics of a Position-Sensitive Depth-of-Interaction PET Detector Module

Super Bialkali (SBA) photocathode is a new technology that improves the spectral response characteristics of position sensitive PMTs, boosting their quantum efficiency up to 35%. In this experiment, two SBA tubes were introduced into a production line of PET detectors mixed with the regular tubes. The detectors were assembled using the standard factory protocols for detector mounting, calibration and testing. We report an evaluation of the improvement introduced by the SBA photocathode comparing the spatial and energy resolution and the depth-of-interaction (DOI) performance of PET detector modules with DOI capabilities. We conclude that the superior performance of the SBA tube may enable the use of arrays with a larger number of crystals of smaller footprint, thus potentially improving the detector intrinsic spatial resolution without degrading the energy resolution or the phoswich (DOI) discrimination capability.