Some emission characteristics of scintillating fibers for low energy X and /spl gamma/-rays

The characteristics of plastic scintillating fibers (PSF) are measured for X and /spl gamma/ photons in the energy range 5 keV to 1.5 MeV. It is shown that a very thin (50 /spl mu/m) slit can be recorded with an array of very thin fibers having 50 /spl mu/m diameter so that the main interaction mechanism is photoelectric absorption, instead of Compton scattering for low energy X-rays. The optical light attenuation, global efficiency and energy resolution have been measured for a system composed of 1 mm diameter fibers and a photomultiplier. An X-ray beam position detector is realized, using an intensified camera, allowing a 4% precision on the position. The effect of bending the fiber is also evaluated.<
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