Development of a Double Layered Scintillator for Separating and Detecting Low Energy Protons and Electrons

A scintillator system consisting of a thin (5,000 Å - 15,000 Å) CsI(Tl) layer evaporated onto a plastic scintillator (NE-102) has been developed for the purpose of distinguishing low energy protons from electrons and measuring the energy of each species. Evaporations in a high vacuum (10-8 Torr) produced layers of CsI(Tl) that scintillate with an efficiency comparable to optimally doped bulk material, If the CsI(Tl) layer thickness is 15,000 Å, it stops protons with energies below 170 keV and electrons with energies below 18 keV. Thus, protons with energies between about 25 and 250 keV can be distinguished from electrons with energies above 18 keV by examining the shape of the light pulse generated in the dual scintillator. Results obtained with protons and electron beams will be presented.