Engineering Advanced Radiation‐Hard Plastic Scintillators Fabricated via DLP‐Based 3D‐Printing for Radiation Detection

Abstract Digital Light Processing (DLP)‐based 3D‐printing offers a fast, energy‐ and cost‐efficient method to fabricate complex plastic scintillators. However, their radiation durability remains uncharacterized, which is crucial for their deployment in high‐radiation environments. In this study, the γ‐radiation hardness of a DLP‐printed plastic scintillator based on Bisphenol A ethoxylate dimethacrylate (BPA), a photocurable monomer with higher aromaticity than conventional monomers such as vinyl toluene (VT) is investigated. The performance of irradiated scintillators is evaluated through pulse height spectra, optical transmission, steady‐state and time‐resolved photoluminescence (PL), and Shore D hardness. BPA‐based scintillators exhibit remarkably higher radiation hardness than VT‐based scintillators. Measurements taken 48 h post‐irradiation show a decrease of 60% in light yield for VT‐based scintillators and 30% for BPA‐based scintillators at 20 kGy, revealing a twofold higher retention of light yield by BPA‐based scintillators. Transmission losses are found to be 54% for VT‐based and 32% for BPA‐based scintillators. PL decay profiles remain unchanged in both cases, indicating preservation of fluorophore emission kinetics. Mechanical hardness of VT‐based scintillators remain stable, while BPA‐based scintillators exhibit slight variations. The findings of this work demonstrate the potential of BPA‐based scintillators to establish a new class of radiation‐hardened 3D‐printed plastic scintillators.