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Geant4 analysis and optimization of a double crystal phoswich detector for beta–gamma coincidence detection

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Abstract

In this study, a novel phoswich detector for beta–gamma coincidence detection is designed. Unlike the triple crystal phoswich detector designed by researchers at the University of Missouri, Columbia, this phoswich detector is of the semi-well type, so it has a higher detection efficiency. The detector consists of BC-400 and NaI:Tl with decay time constants of 2.4 and 230 ns, respectively. The BC-400 scintillator detects beta particles, and the NaI:Tl cell is used for gamma detection. Geant4 simulations of this phoswich detector find that a 2-mm-thick BC-400 scintillator can absorb nearly all of the beta particles whose energies are below 700 keV. Further, for a 2.00-cm-thick NaI:Tl crystal, the gamma source peak efficiency for photons ranges from a maximum of nearly 90% at 30 keV to 10% at 1 MeV. The self-absorption effect is also discussed in this paper in order to determine the carrier gas’s influence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, College of Physics Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China

    Xing Fan & Chao-Wen Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China

    Xing Fan & Chao-Wen Yang

  3. Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi’an, 710024, China

    Xian-Peng Zhang & Geng Tian

Authors
  1. Xing Fan
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  2. Xian-Peng Zhang
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  3. Geng Tian
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  4. Chao-Wen Yang
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Correspondence to Chao-Wen Yang.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11205108, 11475121, and 11575145) and the Excellent Youth Fund of Sichuan University (No. 2016SCU04A13).

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Fan, X., Zhang, XP., Tian, G. et al. Geant4 analysis and optimization of a double crystal phoswich detector for beta–gamma coincidence detection. NUCL SCI TECH 29, 59 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-018-0389-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-018-0389-x

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