A fast-timing array of 2’’ x 2’’ LaBr3:Ce detectors for lifetime measurements of excited nuclear states

Abstract

With its unique combination of excellent timing properties and good energy resolution, LaBr3:Ce detectors have proven to be effective tool in gamma spectroscopy and in particular fast-timing studies. Eight 2’’ x 2’’LaBr3:Ce detectors used in conjunction with the 16 channel all-digital waveform 500 MHz acquisition module,PIXIE-16 were commissioned at iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences, South Africa. The results presented here give insight of the performance of the 2’’ x 2’’ LaBr3 detectors when used in conjunction with a digital pulse processing (DPP) module and electronic read-out module. Initial commissioning experiments were done using radioactive sources, including 60Co, 152Eu and 67Ga. The detectors were then exposed to an in-beam environment using the AFRODITE array with targets 45Sc and 64Ni, with a proton beam energy of 27 MeV.