Scintillation characteristics of the EJ-299-02H scintillator

A study of the dead layer thickness and quenching factor of a plastic scintillator for use in ultracold neutron (UCN) experiments is described. Alpha spectroscopy was used to determine the thickness of a thin surface dead layer, and the relative light outputs from the decay of $^{241}$Am and Compton scattering of electrons were used to extract the quenching parameter. With these characteristics of the material known, the light yield of the scintillator can be calculated. The ability to make these scintillators deuterated, accompanied by its relatively thin dead layer, make it ideal for use in UCN experiment, where the light yield of decay electrons and alphas from neutron capture are critical for counting events.