arXiv:2605.27937physics.ins-detcs.LG2026-05

用深度学习解析探测器中每个光子的到达时间,突破传统测量限制。

Machine learning enables experimental access to photon-by-photon arrival times in scintillation detectors

  • 基于物理模型的无监督深度学习,从波形直接推断单个光子时间
  • 实验验证时间分辨率提升,首次实现光子级时间信息获取
  • 适合探测器物理、核医学成像研究者,推动新型探测器设计

具备优异时间分辨能力的闪烁探测器可显著提升正电子发射断层扫描中辐射源定位精度,对癌症和痴呆等疾病的诊断有重要意义。在皮秒量级极端时间精度下,探测器性能受闪烁光子微观产生及后续探测过程支配。但传统方法因光电探测器结构限制,仅能处理大量光子的集体响应。本研究利用深度学习克服这一根本局限,无需修改探测器结构即可直接获取单个光子的到达时间。该方法基于事件级无监督学习框架,融合物理驱动的探测器响应模型,无需真实标签即可运行。通过蒙特卡洛模拟与多种探测器配置下的实验测量综合验证,我们实现了更优的时间分辨率,可视化了深度依赖的光子输运过程,并基于估计的光子级时间信息,统一分类了切伦科夫光子与闪烁光子。这些结果首次实现对光子动力学的实验观测,弥合理论建模与实验之间的鸿沟,为探测器物理发现与优化开辟数据驱动新路径。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Scintillation detectors with excellent timing resolution enable more precise localization of radiation sources in positron emission tomography, leading to substantial improvements in diagnostic capability for diseases such as cancer and dementia. At the extreme timing precision required for such applications at the picosecond scale, detector performance is governed by the microscopic dynamics of scintillation photons generated within the detector and their subsequent detection processes. However, detector signals have conventionally been treated only as collective responses of many photons due to structural constraints inherent to photodetectors. In this study, we overcome this fundamental limitation using deep learning, enabling direct access to the timing information of individual photons. The proposed method estimates photon-by-photon arrival times directly from detector waveforms without requiring any modification to the detector structure; the method operates on an event-by-event basis without ground-truth labels by integrating an unsupervised learning framework with a physically informed detector-response model. Through comprehensive validation combining Monte Carlo simulation and experimental measurements across various detector configurations, we experimentally demonstrate improved timing resolution, visualized depth-of-interaction-dependent photon transport, and classified Cherenkov and scintillation photons based on the estimated photon-level timing information using a unified deep learning-based framework. These results provide experimental access to photon dynamics, bridging the gap between theoretical modeling and experimental observation, and they open a new data-driven pathway for discovery in detector physics and optimization.

探测器物理深度学习时间分辨闪烁探测

Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。