Effect of γ irradiation on the scintillation and optical properties of lead tungstate crystals

Abstract The radiation hardness of a test batch of lead tungstate crystals grown by a new technology at the Bogoroditsk Technochemical Plant for the PANDA experiment has been measured. The optical properties of the crystals have been investigated at temperatures ranging from +20 to −20°C under irrad...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Abstract The radiation hardness of a test batch of lead tungstate crystals grown by a new technology at the Bogoroditsk Technochemical Plant for the PANDA experiment has been measured. The optical properties of the crystals have been investigated at temperatures ranging from +20 to −20°C under irradiation with a 137Cs radionuclide source. The light yield in the crystal is seen to considerably increase with a decrease in its temperature. In addition, the loss of the crystal transparency under irradiation at low temperatures is higher than under irradiation at room temperature. As a result, at a fixed dose rate, the signal from the crystal at a negative temperature may be considerably greater than the signal at room temperature even if the accumulated dose is high. Ausführliche Beschreibung