NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH SECTION A-ACCELERATORS SPECTROMETERS DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
Issue Date:
2003
Abstract(summary):
In this paper, we report on a relatively new cerium-doped scintillator-LaCl3 for gamma-ray spectroscopy. Crystals of this scintillator have been grown using Bridgman method.. This material when doped with 10% cerium has high light output (similar to50,000 photons/MeV) and fast principal decay time constant (similar to20 ns). Furthermore, it shows excellent, energy resolution for gamma-ray detection. For example, energy resolution as low as 3.2% (FWHM) has been achieved with 662 keV photons (Cs-137 source) at room temperature. Also, high timing resolution (264 ps-FWHM) has been recorded with LaCl3-PMT and BaF2-PMT detectors operating in coincidence using 511 keV positron annihilation gamma-ray pairs. Details of crystal growth, scintillation properties, and variation of these properties with cerium concentration are also reported. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.