Scintillation properties of LiF-SrF2 and LiF-CaF2 eutectic

Dopant free eutectic scintillators 6LiF-SrF2 and 6LiF-CaF2 were developed by the vertical Bridgeman method for the purpose of thermal neutron detection. The molar ratio of LiF and Ca/SrF2 was 4:1 on its eutectic composition. The α-ray induced radioluminescence spectra of the scintillators showed intense emission peak at 300 nm due to the emission from the self-trapped exciton in Ca/SrF2 layers. When the samples were irradiated with 252Cf neutrons, 6LiF-SrF2 and 6LiF-CaF2 exhibited the light yields of 4700 and 9400 ph/n, respectively. Scintillation decay times of 6LiF-SrF2 and 6LiF-CaF2 were accepted for scintillation detectors, 90 and 250 ns, respectively.