Systematic study of the short-term instability of PbWO4 scintillator parameters under irradiation

The effect of irradiation on lead tungstate PbWO4 (PWO) scintillator properties has been studied at different irradiation facilities. Lead tungstate crystals, grown with the oxide content in the melt tuned to the stoichiometry of pure sheelite or sheelite-like crystal types and doped with heterovalent, trivalent and pentavalent impurities, have been studied in order to optimize their resistance to irradiation. A combination of a selective cleaning of raw materials, a tuning of the melt from crystallization to crystallization and a destruction or compensation of the point-structure defects has to be used to minimize the short-term instability of PWO parameters under irradiation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.