Investigation of scintillation and luminescence properties of cerium doped Rb2LiGdCl6 single crystals

•A new single crystal of Ce-doped Rb2LiGdCl6 is grown by Bridgman technique.•This scintillator is hygroscopic and belongs to elpasolite crystal family.•X-ray emission spectra showed Ce3+ emission between 350 and 450 nm wavelength.•Highest light yield of 18500±2000 ph/MeV is calculated under γ-ray excitation.•All investigated samples shows three exponential decay time components.

New single crystals of Rb2LiGdCl6: x% Ce (x=0%, 1%, 5%, and 10%) are grown by two zone vertical Bridgman technique. This crystal belongs to elpasolite family. Luminescence and scintillation properties are investigated under X- and γ-ray excitation at room temperature. Two overlapped emission peaks from Ce3+ 5d–4f transition between 350 and 450 nm are observed. Under γ-ray excitation three decay time components are observed for all Ce-doped samples. Energy resolution and light yield of different Ce-concentrated samples are also presented. This material is highly hygroscopic.