Bright Eu2+-activated polycrystalline ceramic neutron scintillators

C. L. Wang; M. P. Paranthaman; R. A. Riedel; J. P. Hodges; J. J. Karlic; R. A. Veatch; L. Li; C. A. Bridges

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2017.11.013

Bright Eu²⁺-activated polycrystalline ceramic neutron scintillators

C. L. Wang, M. P. Paranthaman, R. A. Riedel, J. P. Hodges, J. J. Karlic, R. A. Veatch, L. Li, C. A. Bridges

Nanomaterials Chemistry Group

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Scintillation properties of Eu²⁺-doped CaF₂-AlF₃-⁶LiF (Eu:CALF) polycrystalline ceramic thermal-neutron scintillators as a function of AlF₃ concentration have been studied. The emission band peaked at a wavelength of 425–431 nm is due to the presence of Eu:CaF₂ micro-crystallites. The highest light output from these samples is approximately 20,000 photons per thermal neutron, which is 3 times that of a GS20 ⁶Li-glass scintillator. The pulse-decay lifetime and light output vs. AlF₃ concentration may be understood using a radiation trapping model and the formation of a Li₃AlF₆ phase. At lower AlF₃ concentration, Al³⁺ ions in Eu:CaF₂ passivate the hole-trapping defects and enhance the light output; whereas at higher AlF₃ concentration, Al³⁺ ions lead to the formation of electron trapping centers in Eu:CaF₂ and the Li₃AlF₆ phase is formed, which reduces the light output. A neutron–gamma-discrimination (NGD) ratio of 9×10⁸ was obtained from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of digital waveforms, while Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) can completely separate the thermal neutrons from ⁶⁰Co gamma rays within the limit of gamma event statistics used in this work. Our results suggest that Eu:CALF scintillators can potentially replace the GS20 scintillator used for thermal and cold neutron detection systems.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume	883
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.11.013
State	Published - Mar 1 2018

Funding

We acknowledge experimental help from D. Cornelius, B.W. Hannan, C.A. Montcalm, and T. Visscher, and comments on this manuscript made by K.W. Herwig. This work was partly supported by Laboratory Directed R&D (LDRD) of ORNL , and by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy . Research of CAB and MPP was sponsored by Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, Office of Basic Energy Science, US Department of Energy .

Funders	Funder number
ORNL Laboratory Research and Development Program
Scientific User Facilities Division
U.S. Department of Energy
Basic Energy Sciences
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering

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10.1016/j.nima.2017.11.013

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Wang, C. L., Paranthaman, M. P., Riedel, R. A., Hodges, J. P., Karlic, J. J., Veatch, R. A., Li, L., & Bridges, C. A. (2018). Bright Eu²⁺-activated polycrystalline ceramic neutron scintillators. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 883, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.11.013

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title = "Bright Eu2+-activated polycrystalline ceramic neutron scintillators",

abstract = "Scintillation properties of Eu2+-doped CaF2-AlF3-6LiF (Eu:CALF) polycrystalline ceramic thermal-neutron scintillators as a function of AlF3 concentration have been studied. The emission band peaked at a wavelength of 425–431 nm is due to the presence of Eu:CaF2 micro-crystallites. The highest light output from these samples is approximately 20,000 photons per thermal neutron, which is 3 times that of a GS20 6Li-glass scintillator. The pulse-decay lifetime and light output vs. AlF3 concentration may be understood using a radiation trapping model and the formation of a Li3AlF6 phase. At lower AlF3 concentration, Al3+ ions in Eu:CaF2 passivate the hole-trapping defects and enhance the light output; whereas at higher AlF3 concentration, Al3+ ions lead to the formation of electron trapping centers in Eu:CaF2 and the Li3AlF6 phase is formed, which reduces the light output. A neutron–gamma-discrimination (NGD) ratio of 9×108 was obtained from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of digital waveforms, while Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) can completely separate the thermal neutrons from 60Co gamma rays within the limit of gamma event statistics used in this work. Our results suggest that Eu:CALF scintillators can potentially replace the GS20 scintillator used for thermal and cold neutron detection systems.",

author = "Wang, {C. L.} and Paranthaman, {M. P.} and Riedel, {R. A.} and Hodges, {J. P.} and Karlic, {J. J.} and Veatch, {R. A.} and L. Li and Bridges, {C. A.}",

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AU - Paranthaman, M. P.

AU - Riedel, R. A.

AU - Hodges, J. P.

AU - Karlic, J. J.

AU - Veatch, R. A.

AU - Li, L.

AU - Bridges, C. A.

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N2 - Scintillation properties of Eu2+-doped CaF2-AlF3-6LiF (Eu:CALF) polycrystalline ceramic thermal-neutron scintillators as a function of AlF3 concentration have been studied. The emission band peaked at a wavelength of 425–431 nm is due to the presence of Eu:CaF2 micro-crystallites. The highest light output from these samples is approximately 20,000 photons per thermal neutron, which is 3 times that of a GS20 6Li-glass scintillator. The pulse-decay lifetime and light output vs. AlF3 concentration may be understood using a radiation trapping model and the formation of a Li3AlF6 phase. At lower AlF3 concentration, Al3+ ions in Eu:CaF2 passivate the hole-trapping defects and enhance the light output; whereas at higher AlF3 concentration, Al3+ ions lead to the formation of electron trapping centers in Eu:CaF2 and the Li3AlF6 phase is formed, which reduces the light output. A neutron–gamma-discrimination (NGD) ratio of 9×108 was obtained from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of digital waveforms, while Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) can completely separate the thermal neutrons from 60Co gamma rays within the limit of gamma event statistics used in this work. Our results suggest that Eu:CALF scintillators can potentially replace the GS20 scintillator used for thermal and cold neutron detection systems.

AB - Scintillation properties of Eu2+-doped CaF2-AlF3-6LiF (Eu:CALF) polycrystalline ceramic thermal-neutron scintillators as a function of AlF3 concentration have been studied. The emission band peaked at a wavelength of 425–431 nm is due to the presence of Eu:CaF2 micro-crystallites. The highest light output from these samples is approximately 20,000 photons per thermal neutron, which is 3 times that of a GS20 6Li-glass scintillator. The pulse-decay lifetime and light output vs. AlF3 concentration may be understood using a radiation trapping model and the formation of a Li3AlF6 phase. At lower AlF3 concentration, Al3+ ions in Eu:CaF2 passivate the hole-trapping defects and enhance the light output; whereas at higher AlF3 concentration, Al3+ ions lead to the formation of electron trapping centers in Eu:CaF2 and the Li3AlF6 phase is formed, which reduces the light output. A neutron–gamma-discrimination (NGD) ratio of 9×108 was obtained from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of digital waveforms, while Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) can completely separate the thermal neutrons from 60Co gamma rays within the limit of gamma event statistics used in this work. Our results suggest that Eu:CALF scintillators can potentially replace the GS20 scintillator used for thermal and cold neutron detection systems.

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ER -

Bright Eu²⁺-activated polycrystalline ceramic neutron scintillators

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