Fabrication of CeCl3/LiCl/CaCl2 Ternary Eutectic Scintillator for Thermal Neutron Detection
Fabrication of CeCl3/LiCl/CaCl2 Ternary Eutectic Scintillator for Thermal Neutron Detection
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DOI：
10.3390/cryst12121760
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发表时间：
2022-12
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
R. Sasaki;K. Kamada;K. Kim;R. Yajima;M. Yoshino;Naoko Kutsuzawa;R. Murakami;Takahiko Horiai;A. Yoshikawa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
R. Sasaki;K. Kamada;K. Kim;R. Yajima;M. Yoshino;Naoko Kutsuzawa;R. Murakami;Takahiko Horiai;A. Yoshikawa
到目前为止，3 He气体由于其低密度和大的中子俘获截面而具有高化学稳定性和对γ射线的低灵敏度，因此通常用于检测热中子。然而，3 He气体的耗尽促使开发用于热中子探测的新的固体闪烁体以取代3 He气体探测器。含有6Li的固体中子发生器通常用于探测热中子。然而，它们目前仅以单晶形式使用，并且它们的6Li浓度由它们的化学成分定义。在这项研究中，6Li的共晶制冷剂的开发。CeCl 3由于其低密度而被选择作为闪烁体相（3.9 g/cm 3）;高光产率（30，000光子/MeV）;四个分量的快速衰减时间为4.4 ns（6.6%）、23.2 ns（69.6%）、70 ns（7.5%）和>10 μs（16.3%），这是由于Ce 3 + 5d-4f发射峰位于约360 nm处。采用垂直布里奇曼法制备了CeCl_3、LiCl和CaCl_2三元共晶晶体。生长的共晶晶体具有Ce 3 + 5d-4f发射，峰值在360 nm处。光产额为18，000光子/中子，衰减时间为10.5 ns（27.7%）和40.1 ns（72.3%）。因此，这项工作证明了通过将闪烁体相和富锂基质相结合以实现高Li含量、快速定时、高光产额和低密度的优化。
To date, 3He gas has been commonly used to detect thermal neutrons because of their high chemical stability and low sensitivity to γ-rays, owing to their low density and large neutron capture cross-section. However, the depletion of 3He gas prompts the development of a new solid scintillator for thermal neutron detection to replace 3He gas detectors. Solid scintillators containing 6Li are commonly used to detect thermal neutrons. However, they are currently used in single crystals only, and their 6Li concentration is defined by their chemical composition. In this study, 6Li-containing eutectic scintillators were developed. CeCl3 was selected as the scintillator phase because of its low density (3.9 g/cm3); high light yield (30,000 photons/MeV); and fast decay time with four components of 4.4 ns (6.6%), 23.2 ns (69.6%), 70 ns (7.5%) and >10 μs (16.3%), owing to the Ce3+ 5d-4f emission peak at approximately 360 nm. Crystals of the CeCl3, LiCl and CaCl2 ternary eutectic were fabricated by the vertical Bridgman technique. The grown eutectic crystals exhibited Ce3+ 5d-4f emission with a peak at 360 nm. The light yield was 18,000 photons/neutron, and the decay time was 10.5 ns (27.7%) and 40.1 ns (72.3%). Therefore, this work demonstrates optimization by combining a scintillator phase and Li-rich matrix phase for high Li content, fast timing, high light yield and low density.