Red-emitting liquid and plastic scintillators with nanosecond time response

Thus, various compositions have been evaluated, prepared and tested. The materials are composed of a matrix (either liquid or plastic) embedding two fluorophores and a light quencher. Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting was used to assess the main criteria of the materials, which is their photoluminescence decay. In the liquid state, ultra-fast materials were successfully prepared. One liquid scintillator formulation showed the following characteristics: an emission wavelength > 600 nm, a mean decay time of 0.84 ns with a FWHM pulse width of 1.92 ns. In the plastic state the preparation was less straightforward. A plastic scintillator with emission wavelength > 600 nm, a decay time < 7 ns with a FWHM of 8.60 ns was obtained. We have verified that the best plastic sample does not present any afterglow. A light yield around 200 ph/MeV has been estimated from relative radioluminescence measurements, this value being around 4 times lower than the BC-422Q 2%, quenched plastic scintillator.