Development of Plastic Scintillator Loaded with CdTe QDs for Detection of Muons

This project presents the design and development of a polystyrenebased plastic scintillator doped with cadmium telluride (CdTe)quantum dots (QDs), optimized for the detection of minimum ionizingparticles such as muons. The scintillator matrix incorporates PPO (0.3wt%) as the primary fluor and POPOP (0.04 wt%) as the secondaryfluor to shift the emission from ultraviolet to blue wavelengths (~420nm). CdTe QDs are added at 0.1 wt% to further shift the emissionspectrum to ~494 nm and enhance total light yield via quantumconfinement effects. The synthesized CdTe nanoplatelets exhibitsharp absorption at 2.51 eV and fast photoluminescence decay,significantly improving optical coupling with photomultiplier tubes(PMTs).The scintillator dimensions are 200×30 mm, chosen for anoptimal balance between interaction volume and timingperformance. To reduce corner light loss and improve internalreflectivity, the geometry is wrapped with Teflon and ESR film. Theexpected light output is approximately 8000–10000 photons/MeV,with sub-nanosecond timing resolution (<1 ns). Shielding isimplemented using 5 cm thick lead for gamma attenuation, 6 cmboron-doped HDPE for neutron moderation, and inner aluminumlayers (1 mm) to absorb secondary electrons. External layers include0.5 mm aluminum for mechanical protection and opticalcontainment, achieving ~92% reflectivity in the 400–600 nmrange.Thermal expansion effects are accounted for in the mechanicaldesign with appropriate tolerances. Overall, the system is designed todeliver high light yield, excellent timing and spectral compatibilitywith conventional PMTs, making it suitable for high-sensitivitycharged particle detection applications. Image 2: Min, S., Kim, Y., Ko, K., Seo, B., Cheong, J., Roh, C., & Hong, S. (2021). Optimization of plastic scintillator for detection of Gamma-Rays: Simulation and experimental study. Chemosensors, 9(9), 239.