Radiation hardness of plastic scintillating fiber against fast neutron and γ-ray irradiation

Preliminary results are reported of measurements of radiation hardness of the plastic scintillating fiber Kuraray SCSF-81 against irradiation with fast neutrons and ⁶⁰Co γ-rays in the region of the neutron fluence from 1×10¹¹ to 5×10 ¹³ n/cm² and the integrated γ-ray dose from 80 to 10⁵ Gy, respectively. Deterioration of both intrinsic light yield and light transmittance of the SCSF-81 is studied. Deterioration is observed at the neutron fluence of about 10¹² n/cm² and at the integrated dose of about 10 ³ Gy for neutron and γ-ray irradiation. Overall deterioration of the light yield is found to be about 40% for the neutron fluence of 10¹² n/cm² at the excitation distance of about 120 cm. It is found that the long component of the attenuation length deteriorates less than that of the short one