Preparation and optimization of CdWO₄-polymer nano-composite film as an alpha particle counter

In this research work, CdWO₄/polymer composite films with different thicknesses were prepared using Poly-methyl acrylate polymer and synthesized CdWO₄ powder. The CdWO₄ powder was synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method in the laboratory. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy proved that the CdWO₄ powder was successfully prepared. Moreover, photoluminescence analysis showed that adding polymer does not change the emission peak of CdWO₄. Also, the responses of all samples were measured using an ²⁴¹Am alpha source with 1860 Bq activity. Results showed that the sample having thickness of 177 mg/cm² has the best counting efficiency (over 2π geometry) among the others. The efficiency measurement was further evaluated using a ²³⁰Th source whose activity is 190.7 Bq. It revealed that the counting efficiency of this sample for both ²⁴¹Am and ²³⁰Th was nearly equal.