New types of lead tungstate crystals with high light yield

Because of their high stopping power and fast scintillation, lead tungstate crystals have attracted much attention in the high energy physics and nuclear physics communities. The use of lead tungstate, however, is limited by its low light output. An effort has been made at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics to improve this. The results indicate that a factor of ten increase of the light output, mainly in the microsecond decay component, may be achieved. The photo luminescence spectrum, light output and decay kinetics of new samples are presented. Longitudinal uniformity of a sample of 22 radiation lengths is studied. Possible applications for calorimetry in high energy and nuclear physics experiments are discussed.