Optical attenuation measurements in metal-loaded liquid scintillators with a long-pathlength photometer

We describe precise optical attenuation measurements of LAB based liquid scintillators using a custom-built photometer with variable pathlengths up to 2 m. Results are presented for linear alkyl benzene (LAB) and LAB based liquid scintillators at wave lengths of 405, 430, 450, and 470 nm. For these measurements much care was exercised to control the purity of the liquids and additives, as well as the materials of the photometer to control contaminations. These data should be valuable for design of large detectors, such as underground neutrino detectors, using these materials as the media. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.