The silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel photo-sensor technology. This paper presents the design optimization process for implementing this technology in a scintillator-based radiation detector. The device provides the advantages of low current consumption, small dimensions, and high gain. These properties make SiPM of great interest for applications involving portable instrumentation. However, a novel approach to establish a set of parameters and their limits is required to optimize the performance of this new technology in radiation detection applications. The trade-offs and the influences of factors such as the photon detection efficiency (PDE), dynamic range (DR), various scintillation crystal characteristics, and light-reflecting materials are discussed. This study investigates the incorporation of CsI(Tl) scintillation crystals with SiPMs based on measurements and results for different photo-coupling configurations, and the obtained achievements are described. A method for evaluating the photon collection efficiency of scintillator-SiPM-based detectors is proposed.

The Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut opened July 4, 1965, and has since become one of American foremost regional theaters. Its American premiere productions include The Contractor and The Changing Room by David Storey, The National Health and Forget-Me-Not Lane by Peter Nichols, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island by Athol Fugard, and Spokesong by Stewart Parker. Several Long Wharf productions have been transferred to New York, including Streamers by David Rabe, The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer, and The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn. Arvin Brown has been Long Wharfs artistic director for eleven years. In that time he has directed regularly: at the Long Wharf; at other regional theaters, and in New York. He has received two Tony Award nominations for his work on Broadway (The National Health and Ah! Wilderness) and has won the Vernon Rice Award for his Off Broadway Production of Long Day's Journey Into Night. Mr. Brown has also worked in television: he directed segments for “Theatre in America” and for the “Visions” series. His most recent directing venture was Strangers, a Broadway play based on the lives of Sinclair Lewis and Dorothy Thompson. The following interview was conducted in March, 1979.