A bismuth germanate scintillator as a total absorption shower detector

Abstract A bismuth germanate crystal (BGO; 58 mm in diameter, 120 mm in length) was irradiated by 35–175 MeV positrons, in order to examine the possibility of its use in high energy experiments. The energy resolution (fwhm) varies from 32% at 35 MeV to 13.5% at 175 MeV. Uniformity of the light yield with respect to the longitudinal and transverse positions is excellent, when measured with a collimated γ ray from 132 Cs.