Organic glass scintillators for nuclear physics and homeland security applications

Organic Glass Scintillators (OGSs) are amorphous materials that have the intrinsic capability of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) between neutrons and gamma-rays. When incorporating performance-enhancing additives such as organometallic compounds into the OGS, gamma-ray spectroscopy can be achieved as well. As a result, OGS combines the best attributes of single crystals, plastic scintillators, and liquid scintillators, resulting in a versatile and high-performance material. This work gives an overview of the research and development of OGS at RMD with the focus on Nuclear Physics and Homeland Security applications. A key aspect of our study involved the optimization of the OGS composition to allow for an ideal combination of PSD and gamma-ray spectroscopy, while preserving the ease of fabrication of OGS. Additionally, the scale-up of OGS to large sizes needed for Nuclear Physics and Homeland Security applications was performed.