Plastic Scintillators
Plastic scintillators were first explored in the 1950’s and they are now widely used in a broad range of radiation detection applications.
Plastic scintillators essentially take the form of luminophores (i.e. luminescent additives) which are uniformly embedded into transparent polymer substrates. Varying compositions allow endless variants of the scintillation characteristics (such as light output, transparency to own emission, decay time and resistance to radiation) to be formulated. Specific advantages are:
Specific advantages of Plastic Scintillators:
- High light output - c.15-20% of NaI(Tl)
- Fast signals - rise times (<ns) and decay times (2-3 ns)
- High resistance to radiation - typically up to 10Mrad
- Easily fabricated and machined into cylinders, rods, sheets, fibres etc.
- Can be supplied as physically large areas (up to >100cm square) and volumes (up to 30cm diameter and 50cm long)
- Physically robust
- Low cost
Plastic Scintillator Characteristics
Optical Properties
| Property | Units | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Wavelength (Max. Emission) | nm | 430 |
| Wavelength Range | nm | TBA |
| Decay Times | ns | 2 - 3 |
| Light Yield | photons/keV | TBA |
| Photoelectron Yield | % of Anthracene | 56 |
| Radiation Length | cm | 2.06 |
| Optical Transmission | µm | TBA |
| Transmittance | % | TBA |
| Refractive Index | 1.06 (@ 430nm) | |
| Reflection Loss/Surface | % | TBA |
Mechanical Properties
| Property | Units | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Density | g/cm³ | 1.06 |
| Atomic Number (Effective) | TBA | |
| Melting Point | ºK | 1627 |
| Thermal Expansion Coeff. | C⁻¹ | 18.4 x 10⁻⁶ |
| Cleavage Plane | None | |
| Hardness | Mho | TBA |
| Hygroscopic | No | |
| Solubility | g/100gH₂0 | TBA |
Plastic Scintillator Variants
| Scintillator | Properties | Applications |
|---|---|---|
| UPS-89, UPS-923A, UPS-90, UPS-96 | Very high light output, good transparency, short decay time | General purpose, particle detection |
| UPS-92S | Slow decay time | Phoswiches |
| UPS-91F | Ultra fast decay time | High energy physics, calorimetry |
| UPS-92RH | Radiation hard | High energy physics, calorimetry |
| UPS-96M | Pressure molding technique, very cheap | High energy physics, calorimetry |
| UPS-976, UPS-971, UPS-972, UPS-973, UPS-974 |
Various wavelengths of maximum emission | Operation with fiber shifters |
Further Reading/Publications
- Plastic Scintillator - Wikipedia
- Plastic Scintillators - ScienceDirect
- Scintillator Crystals Overview
- Scintillators Overview
- Contact Us for a Quote
Plastic Scintillator - Quote Request
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