Radiation detection apparatus having a reflector

1. A radiation detection apparatus comprising:

a scintillator to emit scintillating light in response to absorbing radiation;

a photosensor to generate an electronic pulse in response to receiving the scintillating light, wherein the photosensor is on a first plane, and wherein the photosensor is an SiPM comprising a quenching resistor; and

a reflector adjacent a periphery of the photosensor, wherein the reflector surrounds the photosensor, wherein the reflector is on the first plane, and wherein the apparatus has a delta pulse height resolution between 0.1% and 1.9%.

2. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a housing that contains the scintillator, the photosensor, and the reflector.

3. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reflector is placed on the wiring board, wherein the photosensor is coupled to a wiring board, and wherein the reflector covers at least 50% of a surface area of the wiring board.

4. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator comprises a material of lanthanum bromide.

5. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the apparatus has a delta pulse height resolution between 0.1% to 1.0%.

6. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator comprises a material of NaI(Tl).

7. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the apparatus has a delta pulse height resolution between 0.4% to 0.6%.

8. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator comprises a material of NaI(Tl+Li).

9. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the apparatus has a delta pulse height resolution between 0.6% to 1.9%.

10. A radiation detection apparatus comprising:

a scintillator to emit scintillating light in response to absorbing radiation;

a photosensor to generate an electronic pulse in response to receiving the scintillating light, wherein the photosensor has a surface area that is less than 70% of the scintillator and wherein the photosensor is on a first plane;

a reflector adjacent a periphery of the photosensor, wherein the reflector is on the first plane, and wherein the reflector covers at least 30% of a surface area of a wiring board, wherein the pulse height resolution is less than 7.5% for a Cs-137 isotope 662 keV.

11. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the reflector is a diffuse reflector.

12. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the photosensor comprises at least one silicon photomultiplier (SiPM).

13. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the reflector covers at least 95% of a surface area of the wiring board.

14. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the pulse height resolution is less than 7.2% for a Cs-137 isotope 662 keV.

15. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the pulse height resolution is less than 7% for a Cs-137 isotope 662 keV.

16. The radiation detection apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the pulse height resolution is between 1% and 7.5% for a Cs-137 isotope 662 keV.

17. A method of using radiation detection apparatus comprising:

providing housing containing a scintillator, a photosensor, and a reflector on the same plane as and surrounding the photosensor, wherein:

the scintillator is configured to emit scintillating light in response to absorbing radiation;

the photosensor is configured to generate an electronic pulse in response to receiving the scintillating light;

the reflector is configured to direct the scintillating light to the photosensor; and

producing a pulse height resolution of less than 7.5% for a Cs-137 isotope 662 keV.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

emitting scintillating light from the scintillator in response to absorbing radiation;

transmitting an analog signal from the photosensor; and

converting the analog signal to a digital signal.