Spatial Calibration of Light Yield of a Proton Radiography Scintillator

A technique for measuring the spatial heterogeneity of the light yield of a proton radiography scintillator has been developed. It is based on the recording of digital images formed during the passage of a proton beam through a scintillator and the approximation of the intensity distribution in the beam cross section by a two-dimensional Gaussian-like function. The results of the spatial calibration of the light yield of a lutetium silicate scintillator obtained using a magneto-optical proton microscope PUMA are presented. It is shown that accounting of the spatial heterogeneity of the scintillator makes it possible to describe the transverse beam intensity at each point of the proton radiographic image with a mean accuracy of about 0.7%. Experimental data on fluctuations in the position of the beam center, its size, and shape in the scintillator plane of PUMA microscope were obtained. The proposed technique eliminates optical artifacts in the radiographic image caused by operation of the optical recording system and artifacts caused by the electron-optical shutter, provided that the signal is proportional to the intensity of the beam. It also eliminates or strongly suppresses optical artifacts in radiographic images due to changes in the efficiency of a charge-coupled digital camera.