Bulk growth of unidirectional 1, 3, 5-Triphenylbenzene (TPB) single crystal for fast neutron detection by time of flight technique

Abstract

The organic scintillator crystal 1,3,5-Triphenylbenzene (TPB) is a promising material for high-energy particle detection applications. The bulk size of unidirectional (<100> plane) TPB cylindrical crystal was grown by the unidirectional growth technique and their optical properties were analyzed to couple with a photomultiplier tube for detector device fabrications. The gamma retorts of the grown cylindrical crystal were tested with varying gamma energy sources ranging from 356 to 1275 keV. The Time of flight (TOF) experimental setup was constructed with a grown TPB crystal and Neutron-Gamma discrimination was demonstrated with a ²⁵²Cf fission source. The developed TPB crystal exhibits strong timing characteristics operates consistently and offers a great capability for discrimination over gamma radiations.