Archived - Silicone/Lucite BC-720 Clone

[Richard Hester]

Attached is a picture of a "holey" BC-720 fast neutron scintillator clone constructed using Lucite and phosphor-loaded silicone resin. The resin used was Dow Corning Sylgard 184, which is optically clear and a poor scintilator host. This is exactly what is needed for a Hornyak or a BC-720 -type neutron scintilllator - a poor scintillator host that acts as a support material and proton source to excite ZnS(Ag) phosphor via proton recoil under fast neutron bombardment . The scintillator is being excited by a UV LED flashlight, resulting in the characteristic blue fluorescence of the ZnS phosphor. This scintillator will be attached to a Hamamatsu R1307 3" 8-stage PMT.