Surface Characterization of Scintillator-Adsorbed Polyethylene Terephthalate Film and Its Use for Detecting α - and β -Particles

Abstract

A 34-μm-thick scintillator-adsorbed polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film was prepared by thermal transfer using the high-temperature crimping method in a papermaking process for paper scintillators: Cellulose fibers of paper and scintillators were adsorbed to the PET film surface. The prepared scintillator-adsorbed PET film was transparent and flexible and had an emission peak at 430 nm, which corresponded to scintillator–silica fine powder (SFP). The X-ray diffraction patterns of the scintillator-adsorbed PET film corresponded to those of the PET film base and scintillator–SFP. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that scintillator–SFP was distributed on the surface of the PET film. Scintillation images of $\beta$-particles from 74 kBq ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y ($E_{\max .}=$ 2.280 MeV) in 32 overlapping pieces of the scintillator-adsorbed PET film were observed using a charge-coupled device camera. When a scintillator-adsorbed PET film was immersed in 5 mL of tritiated water (37 kBq/mL) in a 20 mL glass vial, $\beta$-particles from tritium ($E_{\max .}=$ 18.6 keV) were detected and the count rate was found to increase with the number of immersed films in the tritiated water using a liquid scintillation counter. α-Particles emitted from room dust and a commercially available mantle, which was covered with the scintillator-adsorbed PET film, were also detected.