Mechanism of Polishing for Polystyrene Based Scintillators

Abstract—As a result of studying the mechanism of polishing with a disperse system from micro- and nanopowders for polystyrene scintillators, sludge nanoparticles (SP) and polishing powder wear particles (PP) were established to form due to Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) occurring in a four-mode regime in the open microresonator formed by the surfaces of a treated material and a polishing powder particle. The disperse phase particles in the polishing disperse system were demonstrated to wear twice faster as compared to treated material removal. The total cross section of SPs scattering on PPs (31.1 Mb) during the scattering of quantum nanoparticles in the open resonator formed by the treated material and lap surfaces was shown to be much larger than the total cross section of PPs scattering on SPs to result in the absence of a deposit from polishing powder wear nanoparticles on the treated surface and the presence of a deposit from sludge nanoparticles on the lap surface. The results of calculating the material removal rate were established to agree with the data of experimental polystyrene polishing rate measurements at a deviation up to 4%, and SP deposit fragments on the lap surface were from 0.2 to 1.0 mm in size and discretely arranged within an annular zone with a radius of 24.5 mm. The polishing of polystyrene based scintillation elements with a disperse system from micro- and nanoparticles was shown to improve the pulse shape discrimination of fast neutrons and gamma quanta by high aspect ratio detectors by 14%.