PWO Scintillator Crystal

PWO Lead Tungstate Scintillation Crystals

Lead Tungstate - PWO (or PbWO₄) is a highly effective gamma-ray absorber as a result of its high density and high Z. It is also very fast with a very short Radiation Length and Moliere Radius.

PWO scintillator crystal strengths:

  • High stopping power: High Density - 8.28 g/cm³, Radiation Length - 0.92 cm, Moliere Radius -2.19 cm
  • Fast: Decay Times - 6 and 30 ns
  • Radiation Hard: No damage up to 10⁹ Gy

PWO scintillator crystals have the following issues which should be noted:

  • Relatively low light output
  • Are intrinsically radioactive making it unacceptable for some applications
  • Are susceptible to radiation damage, starting with doses between 1 and 10 Gray (10⁸ - 10⁹ rad). Reversible with time or annealing.

Lead Tungstate - PWO scintillator crystals are useful in diverse applications such as:

  • Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
  • Specialist applications in high energy, nuclear, space and medical physics

PWO Scintillation Crystals - Optical Properties

Property Units Value
Wavelength (Max. Emission) nm 430, 520
Wavelength Range nm TBA
Decay Times ns 6 and 30
Light Yield photons/keV TBA
Photoelectron Yield % of NaI(Tl) 1
Radiation Length cm 0.92
Optical Transmission µm TBA
Transmittance % TBA
Refractive Index 2.16
Reflection Loss/Surface % TBA
Neutron Capture Cross-section barns TBA

PWO Scintillation Crystals - Mechanical Properties

Property Units Value
Chemical Formula PbWO₄
Density g/cm³ 8.28
Atomic Number (Effective) 73
Melting Point ºK 1125
Thermal Expansion Coeff. C⁻¹ 10.0 x 10⁻⁶
Crystal Structure Tetra
Hardness Mho 4
Hygroscopic No
Solubility g/100gH₂0 N/A

Further Reading/Publications

Sizes

Property Value
Diameters 50 mm max.
Lengths 200 mm max.

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