The detection of high energy radiation relies frequently on its conversion to visible or near-ultraviolet light by means of scintillator crystals. As the generated visible light then needs to be detected outside the crystal, it is of paramount importance to model the complete system involving the scintillator, the conversion process and the final detection outside the crystal. In this work we present a general modeling scheme of such detection process. Taking into account the bulk scintillator crystal shape and the precise geometry of the scintillator output interface (at micron or nanometric scale), we evaluate the performance of the system in terms of the number of photons and their spatial distribution on the detector. This numerical tool can be used, for example, to assess the performance of image reconstruction techniques used for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners. The influence of nanostructures placed on top of the output interface on the overall response is analyzed and compared to that of a plane exit surface. Our results indicate that the electromagnetic response of the scintillator output interface plays a crucial role in the final detection.
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