2009/07/21 by Bryce Littlejohn, B. R. Littlejohn, K. M. Heeger +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Neutrino Physics Research #nucl-ex #physics.ins-det
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1748-0221/4/09/t09001
published as JINST 4:T09001,2009 · 13 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables; To be submitted to Journal of Instrumentation
arxiv created 2009/07/21 · openalex publication_date 2009/09/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
UV-transmitting (UVT) acrylic is a commonly used light-propagating material in neutrino and dark matter detectors as it has low intrinsic radioactivity and exhibits low absorption in the detectors' light producing regions, from 350 nm to 500 nm. Degradation of optical transmittance in this region lowers light yields in the detector, which can affect energy reconstruction, resolution, and experimental sensitivities. We examine transmittance loss as a result of short- and long-term UV exposure for a variety of UVT acrylic samples from a number of acrylic manufacturers. Significant degradation peaking at 343 nm was observed in some UVT acrylics with as little as three hours of direct sunlight, while others exhibited softer degradation peaking at 310 nm over many days of exposure to sunlight. Based on their measured degradation results, safe time limits for indoor and outdoor UV exposure of UVT acrylic are formulated.