Nonproportionality of Scintillator Detectors: Theory and Experiment

Abstract

On the basis of nonproportionality data obtained for several scintillators, we have developed a model to describe the carrier dynamics to fit the light yield versus electron energy. The theory of Onsager was adapted to explain how the carriers form excitons or sequentially arrive at the activators to promote the ion to an excited state, and the theory of Birks was employed to allow for exciton-exciton annihilation. We then developed a second model to deduce the degradation in resolution that results from nonproportionality by evoking Landau fluctuations, which are essentially variations in the deposited energy density that occur as the high energy electron travels along its trajectory. In general there is agreement with the data, in terms of fitting the nonproportionality curves and reproducing the literature values of nonproportionality's contribution to the scintillator resolution.