Scintillation properties of a 2-inch diameter KCa0.8Sr0.2I3:Eu2+ single crystal

Inch-sized scintillating crystals are required for practical radiation detectors such as hand-held radio-isotope identification devices. In this work, a transparent and colorless 2-inch diameter KCa0.8Sr0.2I3:0.5mo%Eu2+ single crystal was grown by the vertical Bridgman method, and the scintillation properties of a ∅50mm×45mm long sample were evaluated. The Eu2+5d1-4f emission under X-ray excitation is centered at 472 nm. Its scintillation decay time under 137Cs source irradiation is 2.37μs, and the absolute light output is 51,000 ± 3000 photons/MeV. The energy resolution at 662 keV was evaluated for different orientations of the crystals with respect to the PMT, and the effect of 40K background subtraction on energy resolution was evaluated. The performance of the packaged crystal was also investigated.