High Spatial Resolution Microcapillary Plate-Organic Glass Scintillator Detectors for Nuclear Physics Applications

This paper presents the development of high spatial resolution scintillator radiation detectors based on microcapillaries embedded with organic glass scintillators (OGS) for nuclear physics experiments and imaging applications. These detectors offer spatial resolution down to tens of micrometers combined with ultrafast timing response (>2ns) and excellent energy resolution. We demonstrate a novel fabrication technique that achieves uniform and crack-free incorporation of OGS in microcapillaries with diameters as small as <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$20 \mu \mathrm{m}$</tex>. Fluorescence imaging confirms effective optical confinement within individual microcapillaries, preserving the high spatial resolution of the capillary structure. Beta particle tracking experiments using 90Sr sources with different collimation configurations validate the detector's ability to resolve spatial details effectively. Additionally, a high spatial resolution Hamamatsu S13552 SiPM array ( <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$230 \mu \mathrm{m}$</tex> pitch) was employed to simultaneously acquire position, energy, and timing information from OGS sensors, demonstrating its potential for particle tracking in high luminosity nuclear physics experiments. Pulse shape discrimination capabilities with a figure of merit of 2.8 further enhance particle identification. These detectors present significant advantages over current technologies in terms of radiation hardness, timing resolution, and scalability, making them promising candidates for next-generation nuclear physics tracking detectors and beam monitoring applications.