Plastic scintillators are widely deployed in radiation detection applications due to their low-cost, high scalability and generally favorable mechanical properties. However, due to their relatively low atomic number, plastic scintillators generally have low absolute efficiency and offer limited energy information for detected gamma-rays. To overcome these challenges, metal-organics can be included in these scintillators, offering higher efficiencies and gamma spectroscopy in plastics. LLNL is pursuing bismuth loading in plastics utilizing both conventional fluors (Bi-PVT) and triplet harvesting fluors (Bismuth-Loaded Iridium-fluor Plastics, BLIP). Bi-PVT is being produced by Eljen in sizes up to 1.5” x 6” x 30” as a drop-in replacement for portal monitors and LLNL is developing a modular spectrometer utilizing BLIP offering high sensitivity per unit mass of detector material.
Plastic scintillators incorporating up to 8 weight percent element bismuth are being developed as drop-in replacements for current portal monitor plastics. They use the same fluors with fast decay times (<10 ns) while offering enhanced sensitivity with more than 8x increased counts from Am-241 for the same detector volume. In this work, we report on the largest samples produced to date with volumes over 135 in3, and compare their performance to currently fielded plastic scintillators.
Recent material advancements in plastic scintillators enable marked increases in material light yield, detection efficiency, pulse-shape discrimination, and array production rates. These advances may resolve significant capability gaps for lowcost, portable, and durable dual-particle imaging (DPI) systems for nuclear safety, security and safeguard purposes. Two such materials, both 21% bismuth-loaded plastics utilizing iridium complex fluorophores (Ir-Bi-Plastic) were experimentally evaluated for DPI purposes as a small, pixelated radiographic array and compared to similar arrays made from EJ-200 and EJ-256 (5 wt% Pb). Experimentation involved separate exposures to 370 kVp x-rays and 14.1 MeV neutrons when paired with a digital radiographic panel, and array performance was evaluated using ASTM methods for dSNRn determination. Additionally, the development of fast-curing plastic scintillator (FCPS) formulations is highly attractive because it facilitates the 3D-printing of complete pixelated plastic scintillator arrays for radiation detection and localization. Future advancements in this area will significantly reduce the time and costs associated with current array manufacturing techniques. Some early investigations of FCPS samples sensitized with 5 wt% Bi is discussed herein, with their gamma detection efficiencies and associated light yields compared to an equivalent sample of EJ-256. These early unoptimized samples provided similar but not superior performance to EJ-256, and this is an ongoing area of research at the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Plastic scintillators are widely deployed radiation detectors due to their low cost and environmental ruggedness. Their effectiveness, however, is limited by their low atomic number resulting in low stopping power and poor photopeak efficiency. Here, we compare two different Bi-loaded plastic scintillator formulations to conventional plastic, demonstrating improved spectroscopy and stopping power at the ~18 in3 scale. One approach, Bi-pivalate plastics, uses conventional fluors and may be used as a drop-in replacement for currently deployed plastics such as EJ200. The other approach, Bismuth Loaded Iridium-complex Plastics (BLIP), uses an Iridium-based fluor for higher light yield and higher Bi loading.
Plastic scintillators utilizing iridium complex fluorophores offer substantial improvements in light yield, and their light yield is not significantly quenched in compositions with bismuth metalorganic loading, at a loading level of 21 wt% bismuth metal. This new bismuth plastic (Ir-Bi-Plastic) offers improved detection efficiency over commercial plastic scintillators. One application for Ir-Bi-Plastic is in low-cost, portable, and durable dual-particle imaging (DPI) systems supporting nuclear safety, security, and safeguards. However, new materials must undergo investigation using industry standards to quantify their capabilities. In this work, an Ir-Bi-Plastic was experimentally evaluated as a small, pixelated radiographic array in a fast neutron environment, with individual pixel dimensions of 2×2×19 mm. For comparison, identical evaluations were conducted for two similarly sized arrays made from EJ-200 and EJ-256. A separate Ir-Bi-Plastic array with 5×5×20 mm pixels was also evaluated. ASTM methods were leveraged to determine the modulation transfer function and spatial resolution for each array. Edge response measurements of a 2-in thick tungsten block were recorded by pressure coupling all four arrays to a commercial a-Si digital radiographic panel. Experimental results were then compared for all four arrays, and the results demonstrated that the Ir-Bi-Plastic outperforms similar arrays made from EJ-200 and EJ-256 (5 wt% Pb). These findings suggest that DPI systems utilizing Ir-Bi-Plastic hold promise for continued development over older, more traditional, alternatives.
Plastic-based scintillator detectors have many advantages over inorganic scintillators, including mechanical ruggedness and cost. However, their range of application has generally been limited by their lack of gamma spectroscopic performance. We have been developing metal-organic doped plastic scintillators which allow for spectroscopy while maintaining the advantages of plastics. These scintillators allow for the use of plastics in many new application spaces. Using iridium based fluors, bismuth loaded plastics have demonstrated high light yields of >20,000 photons/MeV and good energy resolution (<12% FWHM at 662keV) in modest sizes. We are working on scaling up these scintillators to larger sizes for use in radio-isotope identification (RIID) type application.
This work was supported by the US DOE Office of NNSA NA-22 DNN Program and was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.
High energy X-rays and neutrons can provide 3-D volumetric views of large objects made of multiple materials. Lenscoupled computed tomography using a scintillator imaged on a CCD camera obtains high spatial resolution, while a surface-mounted segmented scintillator on an amorphous silicon (A-Si) array can provide high throughput. For MeV Xray CT, a new polycrystalline transparent ceramic scintillator referred to as “GLO” offers excellent stopping power and light yield for improved contrast in sizes up to a 12” field-of-view. For MeV neutron CT, we have fabricated both contiguous and segmented plates of “Hi-LY” plastic scintillator, offering light yields 3x higher than standard plastic.
Plastic scintillators are in wide use in radiation portal monitors because of their low cost and availability in large sizes. However, due to their low density and atomic number (Z), they offer low intrinsic efficiency and little to no spectroscopic information. The addition of high-Z constituents to these plastics can greatly increase both their total stopping power and the amount of photo-electric absorption, leading to full-energy deposition and thus spectroscopic information in plastics. In this work, we present the performance of the largest bismuth-loaded plastics to date, showing useful spectroscopic information up to relatively high energy (~1 MeV) and their high stopping power compared the current commercially available plastics. These Bi-loaded plastics are based on 20 wt% Bi-pivalate (8 wt% elemental Bi) dissolved in a polyvinytoluene (PVT) matrix and conventional fast fluors (<10 ns decay time). A comparison of performance between slab and cylindrical plastics of similar volumes is presented and large performance improvements (greater than 9 times the sensitivity to 241Am) are shown when used as a drop-in replacement to conventional PVT based portal monitors.
This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, and has been supported by the US DOE, Office of NNSA, NA-22.LLNL-ABS-767130.
Plastic scintillators incorporating 8 weight percent elemental Bismuth offer enhanced sensitivity and distinct photopeak spectra in the <1000 keV range typically used in radiation portal monitors. The Bismuth-loaded plastic is based on polyvinyl toluene with standard singlet fluors. It produces ~6,000 photons/MeV with a maximum emission at 430 nm and a ~10 ns decay. Energy resolution of 49% at 59.5 keV and 16% at 662 keV are obtained for a 14 in3 Bismuth plastic scintillator plate. Count rates compared to standard plastic scintillator of the same size reveal a sensitivity improvement of >5x in the <200 keV range. Future spectroscopic radiation portal monitors based on the Bismuth plastic scintillator could provide moderate resolution spectroscopy for radioisotope identification. In addition, the Bismuth plastic offers outstanding environmental stability to weathering effects, in contrast with standard plastic scintillator formulations.
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