Tests of pulse shape discrimination with EJ299-33 plastic scintillator for use in portable spectroscopy

Abstract

The pulse shape discrimination capbability of the newly available EJ299-33 plastic scintillator is compared with that of the widely-used EJ301 liquid scintillator, using a digital implementation of the charge comparison algorithm. Typical pulse shapes for neutrons and gamma-rays produced by an Am-Be radioisotropic source are fitted to an analytical model, in order to determine the time constants and relative weightings of the fast, medium and slow decay components of scintillation. These pulse shapes are compared to those generated by a Monte-Carlo simulation, utilising the Geant4 toolkit.