A comparison of two thin film scintillators for heavy ion measurement

A comparison has been made between two types of scintillators, NE-102, a commercial plastic scintillator, and paraterphenyl, a primary scintillator. The luminescence was measured by passing fission fragments through the films. The residual energy was then measured by stopping the particles in a surface barrier detector. The difference in surface barrier output with and without the thin film was a measure of the energy lost in the film, and, hence, film thickness. The results were analyzed for varying film thicknesses. The NE-102 films produced a greater specific luminescence (light output vs. energy loss). Possible explanations of this are self-absorption in the paraterphenyl, which is opaque