Primary scintillation yields induced by $$\alpha $$ α particles in gas mixtures of Argon/ $$\hbox {CF}_4$$ CF 4 at 9.5 bar

Abstract

Abstract We report time and band -resolved scintillation from $$\alpha $$ α -particles in Ar/ $$\hbox {CF}_4$$ CF 4 mixtures at a pressure of 9.5 bar. Our results show that %-level addition of $$\hbox {CF}_4$$ CF 4 enables strong wavelength-shifted scintillation in the visible range, with yields at the level of 1000 ph/MeV, scintillation decay times of 9–25 ns and formation times well below 10 ns. Such a performance is a priori sufficient for accurate time-tagging of MeV-particles, without the need to resort to a pure noble gas, thus opening an appealing technological path for next-generation time projection chambers.