Measurements on Time Resolution of BGO, PWO and BSO Crystals

Abstract

A high-granularity crystal calorimeter (HGCCAL) has been proposed for the future Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC). This study investigates the time resolution of various crystal - Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) detection units for HGCCAL, focusing on Bismuth Germanate (BGO), Lead Tungstate (PWO), and Bismuth Silicon Oxide (BSO) crystals. Beam tests were conducted using 10 GeV pions at CERN and 5 GeV electrons at DESY, enabling systematic comparisons of timing performance under both minimum ionizing particle (MIP) signals and electromagnetic (EM) showers. Three timing methods - constant fraction timing (CFT) with sampled points, linear fitting, and exponential fitting - were evaluated, with an exponential fit combined with a 10% constant fraction providing the best time resolution. Measurements of crystal units with different dimensions revealed that both scintillation light yield and signal rise time influence timing performance. Among similarly sized crystals, PWO exhibited the best time resolution due to its fast signal rise time, while BGO and BSO demonstrated comparable timing performance. For long BGO bars (40 cm and 60 cm), the time resolution remained uniform along their length, achieving approximately 0.75 ns and 0.95 ns for MIP signals. Under intense EM showers, both bars reached a timing resolution of approximately 200 ps at high amplitudes. And the presence of upstream pre-shower layers can introduce additional timing fluctuations at similar amplitudes.