A comparison of temporal Cherenkov separation techniques in pulsed signal scintillator dosimetry

Abstract

Cherenkov radiation is the primary source of unwanted light in a scintillator dosimetry system. In this work we compare two techniques for temporally separating Cherenkov radiation from a slow scintillator signal. These techniques are applicable to a pulsed radiation beam. We found that by analysing the rising edge of the light pulse to identify the fast Cherenkov light only removed 74% of the Cherenkov light. By integrating the tail of the signal where only scintillation light is present a more accurate result is achieved. The average of the results of the two methods provides up to a 90% improvement in the accuracy of the relative dose when compared to ionisation chamber, in certain measurements. This work demonstrates an alternative methodology for the removal of Cherenkov light using signal analysis, while preserving all the scintillation light signal and minimising the bulk of the experimental equipment.