The M600 is a novel plastic scintillator material for gamma and neutron spectrometry in harsh environments. In contrast to other solid organic scintillators, it is based on a polyurethane matrix complemented with scintillating and wavelength-shifting additives.
Its main advantages are a better mechanical stability and a radical reduction of aging effects as fogging, combined with increased absorption of gamma radiation due to slight elevations of density and effective atomic charge number, and the possibility to distinguish neutron and gamma interactions via pulse-shape discrimination (PSD).
The emission spectrum peaks at 430 nm and is well matched with the spectral sensitivity of common photomultiplier tubes (PMT). The neutron-gamma discrimination performance of the M600 plastic scintillator is competitive with that of other commercial materials.
| PROPERTIES | M600 | Standard Plastic Scintillator |
|---|---|---|
| Light Output (% Anthracene) | 55 | 60 |
| Wavelength of Maximum Emission (nm) | 430 | 425 |
| H Atoms per cm3 (×1022) | 5.69 | 5.17 |
| N Atoms per cm3 (×1022) | 0.4 | 0 |
| O Atoms per cm3 (×1022) | 0.85 | 0 |
| Density (g/cm3) | 1.207 | 1.023 |
| Polymer Base | Polyurethane | Polyvinyltoluene |
| Refractive Index | 1.57 | 1.58 |
| Softening Point | 72 °C | 75 °C |
| Shore “D” Hardness | 86 | 84 |