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Characterization of Scintillation Quenching in GAGG:Ce Crystals

ORAL

Abstract

Charged particles within the earth’s magnetosphere can have significant effects

on communications, avionics, and power grids. The charged particle flux in

orbit can be measured with scintillation detectors; however, quenching effects

significantly reduce light output, so precise measurements of detector response

are required to accurately reconstruct incident spectra for space weather mod-

els. Cerium-doped Gadolinium Aluminum Gallium Garnet (GAGG:Ce) is a

recently-developed scintillator that is well-suited for high rate measurements in

the space environment. In this talk, we will present our plan to measure the

quenched charged particle response of GAGG:Ce crystals from different manu-

facturers. Our detectors consist of 10 mm diameter GAGG:Ce crystals coupled

to a PIN photodiode, which will be tested at accelerator facilities at Texas

A&M University and Los Alamos National Laboratory. We will utilize elastic

scattering and nucleon transfer reactions to achieve a broad range of proton

energies. The charged particle response data will be compared to predictions

from different models of scintillation quenching.

Presenters

  • Nicholas C Floyd

    Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

Authors

  • Nicholas C Floyd

    Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

  • Felix Liang

    Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Heshani Jayatissa

    Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Argonne National Laboratory

  • Sherry J Yennello

    Texas A&M University College Station

  • Travis Hankins

    Texas A&M University College Station