Plastic scintillator detectors are widely used in particle physics thanks to the very good particle identification, tracking capabilities and time resolution. However, new experimental challenges and the need for enhanced performance require the construction of detector geometries that are complicated using the current production techniques. In this article we propose a new production technique based on additive manufacturing that aims to 3D print polystyrene-based scintillator. The production process and the results of the scintillation light output measurement of the 3D-printed scintillator are reported.
Plastic scintillator detectors are used in high energy
physics as well as for diagnostic imaging in medicine, beam
monitoring on hadron therapy, muon tomography, dosimetry and many
security applications. To combine particle tracking and calorimetry
it is necessary to build detectors with three-dimensional
granularity, i.e. small voxels of scintillator optically isolated
from each other. Recently, the 3DET collaboration demonstrated the
possibility to 3D print polystyrene-based scintillators with a light
output performance close to that obtained with standard production
methods. In this article, after providing a further
characterization of the developed scintillators, we show the first
matrix of plastic scintillator cubes optically separated by a white
reflector material entirely 3D printed with fused deposition
modeling. This is a major milestone towards the 3D printing of the
first real particle detector. A discussion of the results as well
as the next steps in the R&D is also provided.
Inorganic scintillators are widely used for scientific,
industrial and medical applications. The development of 3D printing
with inorganic scintillators would allow the fast creation of
detector prototypes for the registration of ionizing radiation, such
as alpha, beta and gamma particles in thin layers of active
material, and X-ray radiation. This article reports on the technical
work and scientific achievements that aimed at developing a new
inorganic scintillation filament to be used for the 3D printing of
composite scintillator materials: study and definition of the
scintillator composition; development of the methods for the
inorganic scintillator filament production and further
implementation in the available 3D printing technologies; study of
the impact of the different 3D printing modes on the material
scintillation characteristics. Also, 3D-printed scintillators can be
used to produce combined detectors for high-energy physics.
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