Evaluation of granulated BGO, GSO:Ce, YAG:Ce, CaF2:Eu and ZnS:Ag for alpha/beta pulse shape discrimination in a flow-cell radiation detector

Granulated BGO, GSO:Ce, YAG:Ce, and CaF2:Eu; CaF2:Eu coated with a fluorescent polymer, and combinations of coated and uncoated CaF2:Eu with ZnS:Ag were evaluated for their ability to discriminate between alpha and beta particles in a flow-cell radiation detector. The evaluations were based on the analysis of pulse shape spectra. Various granulated scintillators were packed into flow cell detectors that were coils of 3.0 mm ODx1.5 mm ID fluorinated ethylene propylene Teflon[reg] tubing positioned between dual photomultiplier tubes for analysis. The best pulse shape discrimination was obtained for a combination of equal masses of uncoated CaF2:Eu (63-90 μm) and ZnS:Ag (10 μm), which had a 9% spillover. Additional research is needed to reduce the spillover