Light output and energy resolution of CsI, YAG, GSO, BGO and LSO scintillators for light ions

Abstract

The light output and energy resolution for the scintillators CsI(Tl), YAG(Ce), GSO(Ce), BGO and LSO(Ce) have been measured with 1H, 2H and 3He ions in the energy region ∼ 3–20 MeV/nucleon using photodiodes for the light readout. A very good energy resolution of ∼ 0.62% for 45 MeV 3He-particles has been obtained for CsI. The YAG(Ce), GSO(Ce) and LSO(Ce) crystals are non-hygroscopic, have fast decay time as main component and are well suited for experiments with high counting rates and strict timing requirements. The LSO crystal gives the best energy resolution, but reveals strong quenching for heavy ions. The GSO crystal is a good candidate for operation in UHV environment and has high stopping power, short decay time (56 ns) and moderate quenching.