Study of influence of plastic scintillators thicknesses to detect Beta particles and Gamma radiation by means of spectral analysis of {sup 90}Sr, {sup 90}Y and {sup 137}Cs sources
The Nuclear and Energy Research Institute - IPEN, offers post-graduate programs, namely: Nuclear Technology - Applications (TNA), Nuclear Technology - Materials (TNM), Nuclear Technology - Reactors (TNR). The Institute programs mission is to form expert technicians, physicists and engineers with a strong knowledge in their discipline to work in the nuclear area. The course: 'Theoretical Fundamentals and Practices of the Instrumentation used in Nuclear Data Acquisition' covers the use of laboratory nuclear instrumentation and the accomplishment of experiments to obtain nuclear parameters. One of these experimental exercises is object of this work: 'Study of influence of plastic scintillators to detect Beta particles and Gamma radiation by means of spectral analysis of {sup 90}Sr, {sup 90}Y and {sup 137}Cs sources'. The use of scintillators plastic for the detection has the advantage of low cost, high mechanical strength, is not hygroscopic and can be manufactured in large volumes. This work aims to present the analysis of relative efficiency of detection of plastic scintillators of various thicknesses for beta particles and gamma radiation by the spectrum of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 90}Sr. Due to lack of resolution of the detectors plastic scintillators we worked with relative efficiency. The evaluation was done by reading deposited energy, using the software MAESTRO, for each detector thickness. For beta particles was observed an ideal thickness around 3 mm and the better photon efficiency was observed with increasing the thickness of the detector. The present experiment does not intend to establish a new technique for this subject: it solely aims student's practical exercises in nuclear properties of elements and detectors being part of the nuclear experimental course. (authors)