Fabrication and characterization of cubic SrI2(Eu) scintillators for use in array detectors

Strontium iodide (SrI2(Eu)) is a promising spectroscopic detector for use in both nuclear security and medical imaging owing to its excellent energy resolution and low internal background radiation. A cubic form is preferable when coupling with a silicon-based photosensor in order to build an array detector for use in applications such as Compton cameras. Here, cubic SrI2(Eu) crystals with 10 mm sides were fabricated and evaluated. The cubic SrI2(Eu) samples coupled to an avalanche photodiode exhibited an energy resolution of approximately 3.6% at 662 keV when using a shaping time of 3 µs. An increase in light output and an improvement of energy resolution were also observed at lower temperatures. The excellent energy resolution of these devices indicates that these crystals are promising potential detectors for use in Compton cameras and other imaging detectors.