SCINTILLATING OPTICAL FIBERS IN ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCH

This work reports on the use of scintillating optical fibers in two ex periments being prepared for space flight. The Advanced Composition Ex plorer (ACE) [1], to be launched in August 1997, includes the Cosmic R ay Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) which uses a Scintillating Optical Fibe r Trajectory detector (SOFT) for trajectory information. The Scintilla ting Fiber Telescope for Energetic Radiation (SIFTER) is currently bei ng developed as a high energy gamma ray telescope for a future space m ission. It uses scintillating optical fibers distributed throughout th e converter material to allow detailed study of the development of the electromagnetic cascade produced by gamma rays.