Plastic scintillator detectors are widely used in high-energy physics (HEP) experiments for various applications, including calorimetry, luminosity measurement, particle tracking, and fast triggering. These detectors often operate in harsh environments, subjected to extreme radiation doses due to high collision rates and large particle multiplicities.
There is significant interest in developing advanced scintillator technologies with enhanced performance to meet the demands of future experiments. Key goals include improving timing resolution, radiation hardness, and tunability of the emission wavelength, among other properties.
This project proposes a detailed study of scintillator material properties to better understand the limits of current detector systems and accelerate the development of next-generation technologies with impact across HEP and medical imaging (TOF-PET).
As part of this project, the student will investigate new scintillator materials based on innovative plastic matrices doped with state-of-the-art components such as nanocrystals and quantum dots.
The student will have access to a laboratory for setting up dedicated test benches with NIM/VME electronics, electronic assembly workshop, spectrofluorometer, and radiation sources. The project have an important component of experimental work in the laboratory building test benches (with commercials and ideally custom electronics) and manufacturing the plastic scintillators. All of this in collaboration with groups at CERN and the nuclear chemistry department at CTU.