Fast Timing Measurements Using CeBr$_3$ Scintillators

Continued research in advancing scintillation detector technology for both basic and applied nuclear science has recently focused on novel alkali halides. One candidate, CeBr$_3$, is capable of achieving $\approx$120 ps timing resolution, and has also been found to have an energy resolution on the order of 3-5\%. In this work, the utility of CeBr$_3$ detectors for research in basic nuclear physics has been investigated through fast-timing measurements of nanosecond and sub-nanosecond isomer half-lives. A $t_{1/2}$=1.4 ns 2$^{+}$ state in $^{152}$Sm was populated in the decay of a $^{152}$Eu $\gamma$-calibration source, and a $t_{1/2}$=537 ps 9/2$^{-}$ state in $^{177}$Hf in the decay of $^{177}$Lu, produced through thermal neutron activation of a natural Lu foil in the UMass Lowell Research Reactor. Half-lives were measured using a multi-parameter data acquisition setup to obtain energy gated time spectra. Results of these measurements with CeBr$_3$ detectors will be discussed in the context of next generation nuclear science research.