Application of accelerators for the research and development of scintillators.
We introduce experimental systems which use accelerators to evaluate scintillation properties such as scintillation intensity, wavelength, and lifetime. A single crystal of good optical quality is often unavailable during early stages in the research and development (R&D) of new scintillator materials. Because of their beams' high excitation power and/or low penetration depth, accelerators facilitate estimation of the properties of early samples which may only be available as powders, thin films, and very small crystals. We constructed a scintillation spectrum measurement system that uses a Van de Graaff accelerator and an optical multichannel analyzer to estimate the relative scintillation intensity. In addition, we constructed a scintillation time profile measurement system that uses an electron linear accelerator and a femtosecond streak camera or a microchannel plate photomultiplier tube followed by a digital oscilloscope to determine the scintillation lifetimes. The time resolution is approximately 10 ps. The scintillation spectra or time profiles can be obtained in a significantly shorter acquisition time in comparison with that required by conventional measuring systems. The advantages of the systems described in this study can significantly promote the R&D of novel scintillator materials.
Shibuya
Kengo
K
Department of Biophysics, Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba, Japan. shibuken@gakushikai.jp
Koshimizu
Masanori
M
Asai
Keisuke
K
Muroya
Yusa
Y
Katsumura
Yosuke
Y
Inadama
Naoko
N
Yoshida
Eiji
E
Nishikido
Fumihiko
F
Yamaya
Taiga
T
Murayama
Hideo
H
D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D010315:Particle Accelerators / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012106:Research / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012107:Research Design; D012588:Scintillation Counting / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity