Progress in the design of a radiation-hard plastic scintillator

The authors present an update on research started three years ago with the goal of developing plastic scintillators able to endure annual doses of 10⁴ to 10⁵ Gy or more. Attention is given to radiation damage to plastic scintillators, techniques to improve radiation resistance (wavelength shifting and radiation-tolerant plastic bases), and other issues. It is concluded that, although the studies of scintillators must continue in order to define the limits of current capabilities, there is a need to move beyond the study of `naked´ scintillators (whether as plates or optical fibres) and to study them `dressed´ within a detector system