OPTIMIZED PLASTIC SCINTILLATING OPTICAL FIBERS WITH IMPROVEDRADIATION RESISTANCE FOR USE AT THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER

PLASTIC SCINTILLATING OPTICAL FIBERS (PSF) WILL PLAY A MAJORROLE AS RADIATION DETECTORS IN THE GIANT RESEARCH DEVICES ENVISIONED FOR THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER (SSC) AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR DEVICES PLANNED ABROAD. THIS PROJECT IS CONCERNED WITH ESTABLISHING A DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL SOURCE OF THIS NEW GENERATION DETECTION MEDIUM NEEDED FOR THE ADVANCEDPARTICLE PHYSICS RESEARCH TO BE CONDUCTED AT THE SSC. THE ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON OPTIMIZING THE PSF PROPERTIES IN REGARD TO THEIR INTENDED USE. OUTSTANDING AMONG THESE ARE OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS, MECHANICAL RELIABILITY, AND RESISTANCE TO DAMAGE FROM THE HIGH RADIATION FIELDS TO BE ENCOUNTERED. MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY GOALS WILL ENCOMPASS A LARGE RANGE OF SINGLE FIBER SIZES OF BETWEEN 0.2 AND 1.0 MM DIAMETER AND IMAGING ARRAYS OF FIBERS OF 25 MICRON TYPICAL SIZE. THE TECHNICAL WORK WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TWO INTERRELATED PHASES. THE FIRST WILL CONCENTRATE ON THE MATERIALS, FORMULAE, AND PROCESSES FOR MANUFACTURING THE BASIC SCINTILLATORS. THIS WILL INCLUDE INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE NATURE OF SCINTILLATIONPROCESSES AND SCINTILLATION DAMAGE. THE SECOND WILL FOCUS ON THE ACTUAL MANUFACTURE OF HIGH QUALITY OPTICAL FIBERS INCLUDING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HIGH PRECISION EQUIPMENT. BY THE CONCLUSION OF THIS PROJECT, A STRONG TECHNOLOGICAL AND MANUFACTURING BASE FOR PSF WILL HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND A FOUNDATION WILL HAVE BEEN LAID FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF VERY COST-EFFECTIVE METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THE LARGE QUANTITIES OF PSF NEEDED AT THE SSC.