Defect Engineering in SrI2:Eu2+ Single Crystal Scintillators

Wu, Yuntao; Boatner, Lynn A.; Lindsey, Adam C.; Zhuravleva, Mariya; Jones, Steven; Auxier, John D.; Hall, Howard L.; Melcher, Charles L.

doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.5b00552

Title: Defect Engineering in SrI₂:Eu²⁺ Single Crystal Scintillators

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Abstract

Eu²⁺-activated strontium iodide is an excellent single crystal scintillator used for gamma-ray detection and significant effort is currently focused on the development of large-scale crystal growth techniques. A new approach of molten-salt pumping or so-called melt aging was recently applied to optimize the crystal quality and scintillation performance. Nevertheless, a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanism of this technique is still lacking. The main purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth study of the interplay between microstructure, trap centers and scintillation efficiency after melt aging treatment. Three SrI²:2 mol% Eu2+ single crystals with 16 mm diameter were grown using the Bridgman method under identical growth conditions with the exception of the melt aging time (e.g. 0, 24 and 72 hours). Using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, it is found that the matrix composition of the finished crystal after melt aging treatment approaches the stoichiometric composition. The mechanism responsible for the formation of secondary phase inclusions in melt-aged SrI²:Eu²⁺ is discussed. Simultaneous improvement in light yield, energy resolution, scintillation decay-time and afterglow is achieved in melt-aged SrI²:Eu²⁺. The correlation between performance improvement and defect structure is addressed. The results of this paper lead to a better understanding of the effects ofmore »« less

Authors:

Wu, Yuntao ^[1]; Boatner, Lynn A. ^[2]; Lindsey, Adam C. ^[1]; Zhuravleva, Mariya ^[1]; Jones, Steven ^[3]; Auxier, John D. ^[3]; Hall, Howard L. ^[3]; Melcher, Charles L. ^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Scintillation Materials Research Center, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Radiation Detection Materials and Systems (CRDMS)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

Publication Date:: Tue Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Research Org.:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

OSTI Identifier:: 1265461

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Crystal Growth and Design

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 15; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 1528-7483

Publisher:: American Chemical Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Crystal Growth; Optical Materials; Scintillation; Microstructure; Traps.

Citation Formats


                    Wu, Yuntao, Boatner, Lynn A., Lindsey, Adam C., Zhuravleva, Mariya, Jones, Steven, Auxier, John D., Hall, Howard L., and Melcher, Charles L. Defect Engineering in SrI2:Eu2+ Single Crystal Scintillators.  United States: N. p., 2015. 
Web.  doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.5b00552.

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                    Wu, Yuntao, Boatner, Lynn A., Lindsey, Adam C., Zhuravleva, Mariya, Jones, Steven, Auxier, John D., Hall, Howard L., & Melcher, Charles L. Defect Engineering in SrI2:Eu2+ Single Crystal Scintillators.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5b00552

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                    Wu, Yuntao, Boatner, Lynn A., Lindsey, Adam C., Zhuravleva, Mariya, Jones, Steven, Auxier, John D., Hall, Howard L., and Melcher, Charles L. Tue .  
"Defect Engineering in SrI2:Eu2+ Single Crystal Scintillators".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5b00552.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1265461.

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@article{osti_1265461,

  title        = {Defect Engineering in SrI2:Eu2+ Single Crystal Scintillators},

  author       = {Wu, Yuntao and Boatner, Lynn A. and Lindsey, Adam C. and Zhuravleva, Mariya and Jones, Steven and Auxier, John D. and Hall, Howard L. and Melcher, Charles L.},

  abstractNote = {Eu2+-activated strontium iodide is an excellent single crystal scintillator used for gamma-ray detection and significant effort is currently focused on the development of large-scale crystal growth techniques. A new approach of molten-salt pumping or so-called melt aging was recently applied to optimize the crystal quality and scintillation performance. Nevertheless, a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanism of this technique is still lacking. The main purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth study of the interplay between microstructure, trap centers and scintillation efficiency after melt aging treatment. Three SrI2:2 mol% Eu2+ single crystals with 16 mm diameter were grown using the Bridgman method under identical growth conditions with the exception of the melt aging time (e.g. 0, 24 and 72 hours). Using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, it is found that the matrix composition of the finished crystal after melt aging treatment approaches the stoichiometric composition. The mechanism responsible for the formation of secondary phase inclusions in melt-aged SrI2:Eu2+ is discussed. Simultaneous improvement in light yield, energy resolution, scintillation decay-time and afterglow is achieved in melt-aged SrI2:Eu2+. The correlation between performance improvement and defect structure is addressed. The results of this paper lead to a better understanding of the effects of defect engineering in control and optimization of metal halide scintillators using the melt aging technique.},

  doi          = {10.1021/acs.cgd.5b00552},

  journal      = {Crystal Growth and Design},

  number       = 8,

  volume       = 15,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Tue Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2015},

  month        = {Tue Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2015}

}

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Title: Defect Engineering in SrI2:Eu2+ Single Crystal Scintillators

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Title: Defect Engineering in SrI₂:Eu²⁺ Single Crystal Scintillators