Plastic Scintillator Material Research Articles

Proton-recoil detectors for time-of-flight measurements of neutrons with kinetic energies from some tens of keV to a few MeV

For experiments at the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE, where neutrons in the kinetic energy region from some tens of keV to a few MeV will be produced by bremsstrahlung, neutron-time-of-flight detectors have been developed. These detectors are made from the plastic scintillator material EJ-200. Efficiency calibration showed more than 10% efficiency for kinetic energies down to 30 keV. The calibration was done at the “accelerator facility for fast neutron research” at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, using pulsed quasi-monoenergetic neutron fields with a well-determined fluence. The low detection threshold was obtained by coincident readout of two Hamamatsu R2059-01 photomultiplier tubes per scintillator and by triggering just below the single-photo-electron peak of these photomultiplier tubes, which additionally gives a well-reproduceable detection threshold.

Denoising of gamma-ray signals by interval-dependent thresholds of wavelet analysis

Fast Fourier transform and wavelet analysis methods were used to denoise electrical signals by a soft thresholding technique. A neutron pulse of 14 MeV is sent over a sample; as a consequence of the interaction between the sample and the neutrons, multi-spectral gamma rays are emitted by the sample. The gamma-rays were measured using three photo multiplier tubes, which detect optical signals coming from three filtered detectors made of plastic scintillator material. Applying wavelet analysis was possible to realize that the signal can be divided into three different regions. Each region has different thresholds; therefore, different frequency components can be used independently in each region. Comparisons of this method with the fast Fourier transform are presented. In this particular application, it was found that the wavelet transform produces a much better way of denoising the signals in terms of keeping the characteristic high frequency at the start of the signals; this feature allows the differential classification of the signals and the consequent identification of the component of the sample. The preliminary results presented here are the first attempt to identify the chemical composition of samples using this method.

Discrimination of naturally occurring radioactive material in plastic scintillator material

Plastic scintillator material is used in many applications for the detection of gamma rays from radioactive material, primarily due to the sensitivity per unit cost compared to other detection materials. However, the resolution and lack of full-energy peaks in the plastic scintillator material prohibits detailed spectroscopy. Therefore, other materials such as doped sodium iodide are used for spectroscopic applications. The limited spectroscopic information can, however, be exploited in plastic scintillator materials to provide some discrimination. The discrimination between man-made and naturally occurring sources would be useful in reducing alarm screening for radiation detection applications that target man-made sources. The results of applying the limited energy information from plastic scintillator material for radiation portal monitors are discussed.

Luminescent layers for ion-photon emission microscopy

Ion beam induced luminescence (IBIL) combined with ion beam induced charge collection (IBICC) is applied in a quantitative study of the IBIL generation yield and detection efficiency for several plastic phosphor materials. The main purpose of this study is to search for strongly luminescence materials that can be used to easily coat samples to be studied with ion-photon emission microscopy (IPEM). A special focus is given to plastic scintillation materials because thin films are easily prepared, and such films have already been used for single event triggering. The emission yield was found to be low for typical Bicron plastic phosphors (only ∼70 photons/ion/μm). The total collection, transmission and photon detection efficiency of the optical microscope used in this study was determined to be only ∼0.00003. For thin film plastic phosphors ∼20 μm thick, the detection efficiency was only 0.04 photons/ion. This means that using these plastics, IPEM would need to be performed with ∼20× more beam fluence to obtain data, such as IBICC, similar to a standard scanned nuclear microprobe. Improvements are discussed.

Mechanoluminescence of plastic scintillation counters

Luminescence has been observed from the mechanical deformation of plastic scintillation materials. The light was recorded by means of a photomultiplier, and observed on a monitor by means of an intensified CCD camera. There is evidence for piezoluminescence as well as triboluminescence.

Towards two-dimensional brachytherapy dosimetry using plastic scintillator: localization of the scintillation process

Detecting the scintillation light coming from a thin sheet of plastic scintillator (PS) provides a promising fast and precise tissue equivalent method for radiation dose measurements in two dimensions. The successful implementation of such technique requires high efficiency, dosimetric tissue equivalence and high localization of the scintillation process. The last is needed to assure that the light photons originating from a pixel of the scintillator sheet correspond to energy deposited in the same pixel. Since no such information is available for PS material with standard or modified chemical composition we have developed two experimental methods for assessing the scintillation locality by measuring the optical spectra and the scintillation light profile (SLP) of PS samples with different thickness. The results of the two types of measurements are consistent with each other and with a simple theoretical model of the energy conversion process. We have demonstrated that comparing the relative intensities of the primary and secondary photon peaks in the optical spectra of the scintillator is a sensitive approach to determine the delocalization of the secondary photon emission. The ratio of the number of primary to secondary photons shows strong dependence on PS dye composition. Two types of plastic scintillator materials were tested and the advantages of one of them for radiation dosimetry are demonstrated.

Towards two-dimensional brachytherapy dosimetry using plastic scintillator: new highly efficient water equivalent plastic scintillator materials.

Plastic scintillator (PS) has been proposed for both one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) dose measurements for radiation therapy applications. For low-energy photon modalities (e.g., brachytherapy), an efficient water equivalent scintillator is needed. To perform 2D measurements, a high localization of the scintillation process is required. Guided by comparison of the mass energy absorption coefficients as a function of energy and of the dose distribution as a function of distance from the radioactive source, as modeled by Monte Carlo photon transport simulation, a small quantity of medium atomic number (Z) atoms (4% Cl) was incorporated in a polyvinyl toluene (PVT) based PS to approximate closely (within 10%) the radiological properties of water in the 20-662 keV energy range. However, the scintillation efficiency of commercial PS mixtures drops as much as 70% when loaded with high atomic number additives. We developed experimental techniques to assess the scintillation efficiency and locality of 15 new PS mixtures. These mixtures differ by the type of the scintillation dyes and the type of compound containing the medium Z atoms (chlorine). To achieve higher material stability, 4-chlorostyrene was used as a loading compound to ensure polymerization with the PVT base. Two of the new PS materials exhibited scintillation efficiencies within 30% of one of the most efficient commercially available products (BC-400), which is not water equivalent at such low energies. These new scintillator materials are promising candidates for the development of an accurate and efficient radiation dosimetry method not only for brachytherapy, but also for superficial and diagnostic applications.

Error analysis for fast scintillator-based inertial confinement fusion burn history measurements

Plastic scintillator material acts as a neutron-to-light converter in instruments that make inertial confinement fusion burn history measurements. Light output for a detected neutron in current instruments has a fast rise time (<20 ps) and a relatively long decay constant (1.2 ns). For a burst of neutrons whose duration is much shorter than the decay constant, instantaneous light output is approximately proportional to the integral of the neutron interaction rate with the scintillator material. Burn history is obtained by deconvolving the exponential decay from the recorded signal. The error in estimating signal amplitude for these integral measurements is calculated and compared with a direct measurement in which light output is linearly proportional to the interaction rate.

Measurements of the electron dose distribution near inhomogeneities using a plastic scintillation detector

Purpose : Accurate measurement of the electron dose distribution near an inhomogeneity is difficult with traditional dosimeters which themselves perturb the electron field. We tested the performance of a new high resolution, water-equivalent plastic scintillation detector which has ideal properties for this application. Methods and Materials : A plastic scintillation detector with a 1 mm diameter, 3 mm long cylindrical sensitive volume was used to measure the dose distributions behind standard benchmark inhomogeneities in water phantoms. The plastic scintillator material is more water equivalent than polystyrene in terms of its mass collision stopping power and mass scattering power. Measurements were performed for beams of electrons having initial energies of 6 and 18 MeV at depths from 0.2–4.2 cm behind the inhomogeneities. Results : The detector reveals hot and cold spots behind heterogeneities at resolutions equivalent to typical film digitizer spot sizes. Plots of the dose distributions behind air, aluminum, lead, and formulations for cortical and inner bone-equivalent materials are presented. Conclusion : The plastic scintillation detector is suited for measuring the electron dose distribution near an inhomogeneity.

Flow measurement of blood radioactivity in animals

In order to permit flow measurement of blood radioactivity in an animal after establishing extracorporeal circulation, counting cells were constructed of various plastic scintillator materials. The cell was placed in a liquid scintillation spectrometer replacing the sample vial. Stable and reproducible counting rates were obtained only with cells made of blue Altustipe plastic. The counting efficiency was 1.8%. Using this detection system, continuous records were produced of blood radioactivity in miniature pigs after administration of 14C-urethane and [ 14C]methyl-piperazinyl pyrazino benzoxazepine maleate.

A 207Bi light pulser for stabilization of scintillation and lead glass Cherenkov detectors

The design, fabrication techniques, and performance parameters are presented for a light pulser consisting of radioactive 207Bi embedded in capsulses of various types of plastic scintillator material. A typical resolution of 16% (fwhm) for the 0.974 MeV conversion electron line was obtained. A method whereby the contribution to the resolution due to photoelectron statistics can be separated from the total measured resolution is described. An application of these pulsers to the stabilization of an array of 60 lead glass counters is described.

Filament Scintillation Counter

As a part of a program to develop a solid scintillation chamber, filaments of plastic scintillator material were prepared and formed into a scintillation counter. The filaments can be prepated in lengths of many feet. Care must be taken to avoid surface crazing. The diameter was chosen between 0.5 and l.0 mm in view of the proposed application. The action of this sort of light pipes is well known, and a large number of diameters is possible. (A.C.)