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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Investigation of the competition between Tl + and Ce 3+ scintillation in Tl2LiYCl6:Ce, an elpasolite scintillator

Li-containing elpasolite scintillators are currently investigated for their ability to detect both thermal neutrons and gamma photons with a single inorganic crystal. The scintillation is typically triggered by using an activator such as Ce. However, when Tl, also a luminescent ion, is present in the matrix, competition between the two centers Tl and Ce can occur. In this study, we are using Ce doped Tl 2 LiYCl 6 to investigate this competition. To this end, the Ce (which substitutes Y) concentration is varied from 0 to 1 in the Tl 2 LiY 1-x CexCl 6 composition. In the low concentration range in which Ce remains a dopant, the photo- and radioluminescence spectra show that the scintillation of Tl 2 LiYCl 6 :Ce is mostly dominated by recombination on intrinsic luminescent centers. For cerium concentrations higher than x = 0.02, very different emissions can be easily distinguished from the photo- and radioluminescence of undoped and low Ce doped Tl 2 LiYCl 6 crystals. These emissions are attributed to the formation of a second phase Tl 2 CeCl 5 , identified by X-ray diffraction. We conclude that the intrinsic luminescence related to Tl dominates the scintillation in the range of concentration for which Ce does substitute on the Y-site.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1985

Study of cosmic ray scintillations from 5-minute data of the scintillations telescope Izmran and world-wide network stations

During cosmic ray propagation in interplanetary space there appear characteristic cosmic-ray intensity scintillations which are due to charged particle scattering on random inhomogeneities of the interplanetary magnetic field. The power spectra of cosmic ray scintillations on the Earth during some intervals from 1977 to 1982 (for quiet periods, for solar flares and Forbush decreases due to power shock waves) have been calculated from five-minute, one and two-hour values of the cosmic-ray intensity measured by the scintillator supertelescope IZMIRAN. The spectra were estimated by the methods of spectral analysis and by autoregressive methods which mutually control each other and make it possible not only to analyze scintillation powers at distinguished frequencies, but also to determine the behavior of spectrum slopes in some frequency ranges.

Gulinsky, O. V.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy migration and scintillation kinetics in compositionally complex (Gd 1/4 Y 1/4 Tb 1/4 Lu 1/4 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce single crystal scintillator

It is well-established that compositional tuning through binary admixture can improve scintillation performance in several materials systems, including Ce-activated garnets. Although recent work on ternary or quaternary cation admixture shows promise, the impact of this increased compositional complexity on thermal stability and carrier-defect dynamics has not been addressed. Here, we investigate a compositionally complex garnet, (Gd 1/4 Y 1/4 Tb 1/4 Lu 1/4 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce (GYTLAG), grown by the Czochralski method using temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL), PL decay, and thermoluminescence (TL). PL and PL decay measurements support a thermally activated Tb 3+ -Ce 3+ energy transfer, where Tb 3+ emission dominates below 60 K, but Ce 3+ emission increases from 20-300 K. Thermal quenching of Ce 3+ emission occurs around T 50 = 508 K, with an activation energy of 0.6 eV. TL and wavelength-resolved TL spectra from 20–500 K show that GYTLAG contains similar trap groups to LuAG but with a broader distribution of glow peaks below room temperature, possibly caused by quaternary cation mixing. A combination of dose dependence, partial cleaning and initial rise, and glow curve fitting to a first order continuous Gaussian distribution model are used to understand the contribution of electronic point defects to scintillation decay and afterglow at room temperature. Furthermore, these results inform how increased compositional complexity influences recombination dynamics in garnet scintillators.

Compositionally complex↗
DOE OSTI2019

A liquid scintillation detector for radioassay of gadolinium-loaded liquid scintillator for the LZ Outer Detector

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. We report on the design and performance of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) “Screener”, a small liquid scintillator detector consisting of ≈23 kg of LAB-based gadolinium-loaded liquid scintillator (GdLS) to be used in the LZ Outer Detector. The Outer Detector will be filled with 17.3 tonnes of GdLS and will surround the central liquid xenon time projection chamber of LZ. Its primary function will be to tag neutron events in the liquid xenon which could mimic a WIMP dark matter signal. To meet the deadtime requirements for the Outer Detector, the radioimpurity levels in the GdLS must be kept below ≲0.07 mBq/kg. This background level corresponds to a rate of ≈50Hz above an energy threshold of 100 keV. The Screener was operated in the ultra-low-background environment of the former LUX water shield in the Davis Laboratory at the Sanford Underground Research Facility for radioassay of the GdLS. Careful selection of detector materials and use of ultra-low-background PMTs allows the measurement of a variety of radioimpurities. The 14C/12C ratio in the scintillator is measured to be (2.83±0.06(stat.)±0.01(sys.))×10 -17 . Use of pulse shape discrimination allows the concentration of isotopes throughout the 238U, 235U, and 232Th chains to be measured by fitting the collected spectra from α and β events. We find that equilibrium is broken in the 238U and 232Th chains and that a significant portion of the contamination in the GdLS results from decays in the 227Ac subchain of the 235U series. Predictions for the singles rate in the Outer Detector are presented. The rate from radioimpurities above 100 keV in the GdLS is estimated to be 97.9±6.4Hz, with 65.5±1.9Hz resulting from α-decays.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Scintillation characteristics of the EJ-299-02H scintillator

Here a study of the dead layer thickness and quenching factor of a plastic scintillator for use in ultracold neutron (UCN) experiments is described. Alpha spectroscopy was used to determine the thickness of a thin surface dead layer to be 630 ± 110 nm. The relative light outputs from the decay of 241 Am and Compton scattering of electrons were used to extract Birks’ law coefficient, yielding a kB value of 0.087 ± 0.003 mm/MeV, consistent with some previous reports for other polystyrene-based scintillators. The results from these measurements are incorporated into the simulation to show that an energy threshold of (∼9 keV) can be achieved for the UCNProBe experiment. This low threshold enables high beta particle detection efficiency and the indirect measurement of UCN. The ability to make the scintillator deuterated, accompanied by its relatively thin dead layer, gives rise to unique applications in a wide range of UCN experiments, where it can be used to trap UCN and detect charged particles in situ.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Luminescence and Scintillation in the Niobium Doped Oxyfluoride Rb4Ge5O9F6:Nb

A new niobium-doped inorganic scintillating oxyfluoride, Rb4Ge5O9F6:Nb, was synthesized in single crystal form by high-temperature flux growth. The host structure, Rb4Ge5O9F6, crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbcn with lattice parameters a = 6.98430(10) Å, b = 11.7265(2) Å, and c = 19.2732(3) Å, consisting of germanium oxyfluoride layers made up of Ge3O9 units connected by GeO3F3 octahedra. In its pure form, Rb4Ge5O9F6 shows neither luminescence nor scintillation but when doped with niobium, Rb4Ge5O9F6:Nb exhibits bright blue luminescence and scintillation. The isostructural doped structure, Rb4Ge5O9F6:Nb, crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbcn with lattice parameters a = 6.9960(3) Å, b = 11.7464(6) Å, and c = 19.3341(9) Å. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements suggest that the niobium is located in an octahedral coordination environment. Optical measurements inform us that the niobium dopant acts as the activator. The synthesis, structure, and optical properties are reported, including radioluminescence (RL) measurements under X-ray irradiation.

Carone, Darren (ORCID:0000000164014098)↗
NASA NTRS1974

Cosmic ray scintillations. III - The low-frequency limit and observations of interplanetary scintillations

Statistically significant broad-band fluctuations, or 'scintillations', in the high-energy (about 1 GeV) cosmic ray intensity observed by neutron monitors are interpreted. The scintillations are caused by fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field. The theory of the scintillations is presented for the low-frequency limit, below .0001 Hz, including the effects of the earth's rotation on the fluxes observed by the neutron monitors. The observations and the theory are in good agreement. The shapes and amplitudes of the observed spectra and, in particular, a broad enhancement in the power spectrum of the Deep River neutron monitor flux near 1 cpd are related to the interplanetary magnetic field power spectrum and the cosmic ray anisotropy.

Owens, A. J.↗
DOE OSTI2011

Effects of Packaging SrI2(Eu) Scintillator Crystals

Recent renewed emphasis placed on gamma-ray detectors for national security purposes has motivated 13 researchers to identify and develop new scintillator materials capable of high energy resolution and 14 growable to large sizes. We have discovered that SrI2(Eu) has many desirable properties for gamma-ray 15 detection and spectroscopy, including high light yield of ~90,000 photons/MeV and excellent light yield 16 proportionality. Furthermore, we have demonstrated growth of crack-free 2 diameter boules. We 17 have measured <2.7% FWHM at 662 keV with small detectors (<1 cm3) in direct contact with a 18 photomultiplier tube, and ~3% resolution at 662 keV is obtained for 1 in3 crystals. Due to the 19 hygroscopic nature of SrI2(Eu), proper packaging is required for field use. This work describes a 20 systematic study performed to determine the key factors in the packaging process to optimize 21 performance. These factors include proper polishing of the surface, the geometry of the crystal, 22 reflector materials and windows. A technique based on use of a collimated Cs-137 source was developed 23 to examine light collection uniformity. Employing this technique, we found that when the crystal is 24 packaged properly, the variance in the pulse height at 662 keV from events near the bottom of the 25 crystal compared to those near the top of the crystal could be reduced to <1%. This paper describes the 26 design and engineering of our detector package in order to improve energy resolution of 1 in3-scale 27 SrI2(Eu) crystals.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Characterization of the scintillation anisotropy in crystalline stilbene scintillator detectors

This study reports a series of measurements that characterize the directional dependence of the scintillation response of crystalline melt-grown and solution-grown trans-stilbene to incident DT and DD neutrons. These measurements give the amplitude and pulse shape dependence on the proton recoil direction over one hemisphere of the crystal, confirming and extending previous results in the literature for melt-grown stilbene and providing the first measurements for solution-grown stilbene. In similar measurements of liquid and plastic detectors, no directional dependence was observed, confirming the hypothesis that the anisotropy in stilbene and other organic crystal scintillators is a result of internal effects due to the molecular or crystal structure and not an external effect on the measurement system.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Monte Carlo simulations of electron thermalization in alkali iodide and alkaline-earth fluoride scintillators

A Monte Carlo model of electron thermalization in inorganic scintillators, which was developed and applied to CsI in a previous publication [Wang et al., J. Appl. Phys. 110, 064903 (2011)], is extended to another material of the alkali halide class, NaI, and to two materials from the alkaline-earth halide class, CaF{sub 2} and BaF{sub 2}. This model includes electron scattering with both longitudinal optical (LO) and acoustic phonons as well as the effects of internal electric fields. For the four pure materials, a significant fraction of the electrons recombine with self-trapped holes and the thermalization distance distributions of the electrons that do not recombine peak between approximately 25 and 50 nm and extend up to a few hundreds of nanometers. The thermalization time distributions of CaF{sub 2}, BaF{sub 2}, NaI, and CsI extend to approximately 0.5, 1, 2, and 7 ps, respectively. The simulations show that the LO phonon energy is a key factor that affects the electron thermalization process. Indeed, the higher the LO phonon energy is, the shorter the thermalization time and distance are. The thermalization time and distance distributions show no dependence on the incident {gamma}-ray energy. The four materials also show different extents of electron-hole pair recombination due mostly to differences in their electron mean free paths (MFPs), LO phonon energies, initial densities of electron-hole pairs, and static dielectric constants. The effect of thallium doping is also investigated for CsI and NaI as these materials are often doped with activators. Comparison between CsI and NaI shows that both the larger size of Cs{sup +} relative to Na{sup +}, i.e., the greater atomic density of NaI, and the longer electron mean free path in NaI compared to CsI contribute to an increased probability for electron trapping at Tl sites in NaI versus CsI.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Measurement of the {sup 8}B solar neutrino flux with the KamLAND liquid scintillator detector

We report a measurement of the neutrino-electron elastic scattering rate from {sup 8}B solar neutrinos based on a 123 kton-day exposure of KamLAND. The background-subtracted electron recoil rate, above a 5.5-MeV analysis threshold is 1.49 {+-} 0.14(stat) {+-} 0.17(syst) events per kton-day. Interpreted as due to a pure electron flavor flux with a {sup 8}B neutrino spectrum, this corresponds to a spectrum integrated flux of 2.77 {+-} 0.26(stat) {+-} 0.32(syst) x10{sup 6} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1}. The analysis threshold is driven by {sup 208}Tl present in the liquid scintillator, and the main source of systematic uncertainty is due to background from cosmogenic {sup 11}Be. The measured rate is consistent with existing measurements and with standard solar model predictions which include matter-enhanced neutrino oscillation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Crystal structure, electronic structure, optical and scintillation properties of self-activated Cs 4 YbI 6 [Crystal structure, optical and scintillation properties of self-activated Cs 4 YbI 6 ]

A self-activated Cs 4 YbI 6 single crystal was grown by the vertical Bridgman method. Crystal structure refinements verified the phase purity and the trigonal crystal system with a space group of $\bar{R}$ 3 c . By using differential scanning calorimetry, the melting and crystallization points were determined to be 550 and 510 °C, respectively. Luminescence and scintillation properties were systematically studied. Upon ultraviolet light (360 nm) excitation, the Cs 4 YbI 6 crystal exhibits bluish-green emission centered at 450 and 480 nm due to spin-allowed and spin-forbidden transitions of Yb 2+ activators. The lifetimes of the corresponding emission bands at room temperature are tens and hundreds of nanoseconds, respectively. X-ray excited radioluminescence spectrum is dominated by the spin-forbidden transition of Yb 2+ at 480 nm. The absolute light yield is 2700 ± 200 photons/MeV with a principal scintillation decay time of 33 ns. In conclusion, the physical explanation for the low light yield observed is proposed from experimental and theoretical insights.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Comparative Neutron Detection Efficiency in He-3 Proportional Counters and Liquid Scintillators

We present new results on the neutron detection efficiency of detection systems based on He-3 proportional counters compared to organic liquid scintillators. The experiments were conducted using a well-characterized Cf-252 neutron source, measured bare, and shielded with slabs of polyethylene. The results show that the intrinsic neutron detection efficiency for the bare source is approximately 25% for the He-3 system, and 67% for the liquid scintillator system. When polyethylene sheets were used to shield the source in 2.54 cm increments, the neutron detection efficiency of both systems decreased exponentially to approximately 10% for the case of 25.4 cm. Experimental results were simulated using MCNPX-PoliMi and good agreement was found between measurement and simulation results for all the cases considered here.

Organic scintillator, He-3, neutron detection, det↗
DOE OSTI2013

Measurement of transmission efficiency for 400 MeV proton beam through collimator at Fermilab MuCool Test Area using Chromox-6 scintillation screen

The MuCool Test Area (MTA) at Fermilab is a facility to develop the technology required for ionization cooling for a future Muon Collider and/or Neutrino Factory. As part of this research program, feasibility studies of various types of RF cavities in a high magnetic field environment are in progress. As a unique approach, we have tested a RF cavity filled with a high pressure hydrogen gas with a 400 MeV proton beam in an external magnetic field (B = 3 T). Quantitative information about the number of protons passing through this cavity is an essential requirement of the beam test. The MTA is a flammable gas (hydrogen) hazard zone. Due to safety reasons, no active (energized) beam diagnostic instrument can be used. Moreover, when the magnetic field is on, current transformers (toroids) used for beam intensity measurements do not work due to the saturation of the ferrite material of the transformer. Based on these requirements, we have developed a passive beam diagnostic instrumentation using a combination of a Chromox-6 scintillation screen and CCD camera. This paper describes details of the beam profile and position obtained from the CCD image with B = 0 T and B = 3 T, and for high and low intensity proton beams. A comparison is made with beam size obtained from multi-wires detector. Beam transmission efficiency through a collimator with a 4 mm diameter hole is measured by the toroids and CCD image of the scintillation screen. Results show that the transmission efficiency estimated from the CCD image is consistent with the toroid measurement, which enables us to monitor the beam transmission efficiency even in a high magnetic field environment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Auger recombination in sodium-iodide scintillators from first principles

Scintillator radiation detectors suffer from low energy resolution that has been attributed to non-linear light yield response to the energy of the incident gamma rays. Auger recombination is a key non-radiative recombination channel that scales with the third power of the excitation density and may play a role in the non-proportionality problem of scintillators. In this work, we study direct and phonon-assisted Auger recombination in NaI using first-principles calculations. Our results show that phonon-assisted Auger recombination, mediated primarily by short-range phonon scattering, dominates at room temperature. We discuss our findings in light of the much larger values obtained by numerical fits to z-scan experiments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Average neutron time-of-flight instrument response function inferred from single D-T neutron events within a plastic scintillator

The apparent ion temperature and neutron-reaction history are important characteristics of a fusion plasma. Extracting these quantities from a measured neutron-time-of-flight signal requires accurate knowledge of the instrument response function (IRF). This paper describes a novel method for obtaining the IRF directly for single DT neutron interactions by utilizing n-alpha coincidence. The t(d,α)n nuclear reaction was produced at Sandia National Laboratories’ Ion Beam Laboratory using a 300 keV Cockcroft-Walton generator to accelerate a 2.5 μA beam of 175 keV D + ions into a stationary ErT 2 target. The average neutron IRF was calculated by taking a time-corrected average of individual neutron events within an EJ-228 plastic scintillator. The scintillator was coupled to two independent photo-multiplier tubes operated in the current mode: a Hamamatsu 5946 mod-5 and a Photek PMT240. Finally, the experimental setup and results will be discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗