Scintillation properties of Rb2LiGdBr6: Ce3+ single crystals

Scintillation properties of a new cerium doped Rb₂LiGdBr₆ (RLGC) single crystal belongs to the elpasolite family is reported. This material is grown by the vertical Bridgman technique with 1% and 5% Ce³⁺-concentration (mole %). Under X-ray excitation, two overlapped emission peaks followed by broad band is observed between 350 to 680 nm wavelengths for 1% Ce sample. At 662 keV γ-rays RLGB: 5% Ce³⁺ crystal shows an energy resolution and light yield of 5.5% (FWHM) and ~ 25,500±2,600 ph/MeV, respectively. Under γ-ray excitation, RLGB: Ce³⁺ crystals showed four exponential decay time components. Improvement in the scintillation properties is expected with higher the higher Ce-doping. It is expected that this scintillator could be used as a thermal neutron detector due to the presence of Li and Gd ions in the host lattice. Like other inorganic halide scintillators this material is also very hygroscopic.