A compact two-dimensional radiation detector for educational applications

Recent advances in low-cost, portable cosmic-ray detectors have broadened citizen-science engagement in particle physics studies. Imaging applications such as muography, however, remain largely inaccessible because existing detectors typically require tens to hundreds of sensors, making them costly and complex. This gap underscores the need for a compact imaging detector. In this study, we developed SAKURA, a palm-sized two-dimensional muon scintillation detector that uses only four silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and can be built for less than 1,000 USD. Its spatial resolution was evaluated using a 5 GeV/c muon beam at CERN’s T10 beamline in September 2024, yielding 16.5 mm along the x-axis and 7.93 mm along the y-axis. The entire study, including the design and testing of the detector and analysis of the data, was carried out by high school students, demonstrating that SAKURA makes radiation imaging accessible and practical even for non-specialists with the help of some professional scientists.