Irradiation Effect of New Scintillators

The scintillators used for high-energy physics experiments will encounter a severe irradiation environment. So the irradiation hardness of scintillators must meet certain requirements. After irradiation, the scintillators will have some changes including the change of scintillation mechanism, the formation of color centers, the change of light output, the damage of light response uniformity, the increase of noise. The irradiation effect of scintillators is caused by the structure defects, such as oxygen vacancies. Doping, optimization of crystal growth parameters and post thermal treatment have been proved to be effective for enhancing the radiation hardness of scintillation crystals. This article introduces the irradiation effects of new scintillators and several usual methods of studying irradiation effects, including optical spectroscopy analysis, thermoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance and the technique of positron annihilation.