Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8165990 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment | 2018 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
We have previously reported on the formation of Suzuki Phase precipitate particles as a result of the addition of the divalent activator ion Eu 2+ to the monovalent alkali halide host LiI. [Boatner et al. (2017)]. These precipitates form during Bridgman or other melt-growth processes, even at low Eu2+ concentrations (e.g., 0.1% EuI2 doping), and scatter the scintillation light reducing the optical transparency of the scintillator and adversely affecting its radiation-detection performance. In our prior work, we developed a two-stage thermal-treatment method for the post-growth removal of the Suzuki Phase particles and the realization of a significant improvement in the optical transparency and associated neutron-detection of LiI:Eu2+ scintillators. These improvements resulted in neutron-detection performance that is superior to GS-20 glass and that allows for the application of pulse height gamma-ray discrimination over a wide range of gamma ray energies as opposed to pulse shape discrimination. Here, we apply the two-stage thermal-processing method for the removal of Suzuki phase precipitates and carry out an in-depth study, first, of the neutron scintillator performance versus the Eu2+ activator-ion-concentration spatial variation as a result of zoning effects during the Bridgman growth of LiI:Eu2+ and, second, of the effects of varying the initial Eu2+ activator ion concentration prior to crystal growth. The Eu2+ zoning variation results allow one to identify and select the most efficient location of the scintillation performance in a directionally solidified single-crystal boule. The present study of the initial activator concentration levels shows that there are, in fact, two distinct types of luminescence centers with varying performance properties - one that occurs only at low EuI2 addition levels (e.g., 0.01 to 0.06 %EuI2) and that is quickly replaced by a second luminescing center with increasing Eu2+ content (e.g., at â¼0.1% EuI2). The light yield for the luminescing center formed using a Eu activator in LiI is a critical function of the Eu concentration in the range of 0.01 to 0.1 % EuI2, and a high light yield of 100,000 photons/neutron is observed at the 0.06 %EuI2additive level prior to thermal processing.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Instrumentation
Authors
L.A. Boatner, E.P. Comer, G.W. Wright, J.O. Ramey, R.A. Riedel, G.E. Jr., J.A. Kolopus,