Crystal growth, luminescence and scintillation properties of mixed Ce:Cs2LiLaxY1-xCl6 (0 < x ≤ 0.4) scintillators.

Ce:Cs 2 LiYCl 6 (CLYC) crystal is a marketable halide inorganic scintillator with very high light yield, excellent energy resolution and pulse-shape discrimination between gamma rays and thermal neutrons. Although the scintillation performance of Ce:Cs 2 LiLaCl 6 (CLLC) crystal is better than CLYC crystal, the promising application was restricted by the crystal growth difficulties. To utilize the advantage of La 3+ halide, research on the growth of Ce:Cs 2 LiLa x Y 1-x Cl 6 (0 < x ≤ 0.4) crystals were undertaken. The Ce:Cs 2 LiLa x Y 1-x Cl 6 with x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 were grown by the vertical Bridgman technique, and transparent Ce:Cs 2 LiLa 0.1 Y 0.9 Cl 6 samples were successfully obtained. The crystal structure and composition of the as-grown crystals were characterized by powder x-ray diffraction patterns. The luminescence and scintillation properties of the mixed elpasolites Ce:Cs 2 LiLa x Y 1-x Cl 6 (0 < x ≤ 0.4) crystals were also investigated. Finally, it was found that Ce:Cs 2 LiLa 0.1 Y 0.9 Cl 6 is a very promising gamma-rays and thermal neutrons scintillator with relatively high optical quality grown from vertical Bridgman method, acceptable energy resolution and relatively fast decay time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]