Radiation damage of heavy crystalline detector materials by 24Â GeV protons

Samples of three heavy crystalline materials: PbWO4, Bi4Si3O12, and PbF2 were irradiated in a high-intensity 24 GeV proton beam at the CERN PS to fluencies of 3.8×1013 protons/cm2. The optical transmission radiation damage was measured and all crystals show a shift of the cutoff in the transmission spectrum that is not observed when the crystals are irradiated with γ radiation. This shift of the cutoff under proton irradiation seems to be a general property of the heavy crystalline materials. A mechanism for this proton-induced transmission damage is discussed.