Scintillation properties of LiF–SrF2 and LiF–CaF2 eutectic

Dopant free eutectic scintillators 6LiF–SrF2 and 6LiF–CaF2 were developed by the vertical Bridgeman method for the purpose of thermal neutron detection. The molar ratio of LiF and Ca/SrF2 was 4:1 on its eutectic composition. The α-ray induced radioluminescence spectra of the scintillators showed intense emission peak at 300 nm due to the emission from the self-trapped exciton in Ca/SrF2 layers. When the samples were irradiated with 252Cf neutrons, 6LiF–SrF2 and 6LiF–CaF2 exhibited the light yields of 4700 and 9400 ph/n, respectively. Scintillation decay times of 6LiF–SrF2 and 6LiF–CaF2 were accepted for scintillation detectors, 90 and 250 ns, respectively.