I have a couple of chunks of scintillator plastic (thanks, Don Orie), and a 2" and 3" PMT, and am thinking of practical ways of coupling the scintillators to the PMTs. I also have some Dow Corning DC-200 (very viscous silicone fluid), and was thinking of using this as an optical coupler, with a bead of silicone glue around the outside of the interface to hold the silicone oil in place. For those who aren't lucky enough to get their hands on a can of DC-200, silicone vacuum grease may work in a similar fashion. Putting a reflector around the outside of the scintillator is a bit of a challenge. All the literature I've read so far indicates that a diffuse reflector is preferable to a specular reflector, and they recommend using MgO or alumina powder packed around the scintillator. An old CVC pump manual I have recommends using milk of magnesia (unflavored, of course) as an anti-sieze compound when replacing a heating element in the pump. I'm wondering if the stuff could also be pressed into service as a reflective coating for a plastic scintillator. It's cheap, easy to paint on, and it's very white....
Created on Sunday, April 15, 2001 11:28 PM EDT by Richard L. Hester