Crystal growth and scintillation property of Nd3+-doped LaF3 single crystal

Two-inch size Nd³⁺-doped LaF³ single crystals was successfully grown by the Czochralski technique. No remarkable absorption due to unfavorable impurity was observed from optical absorption measurements in the vacuum ultra-violet spectral region. The high crystallinity and homogeneous Nd³⁺ distribution were found from X-ray rocking curve analysis and chemical composition analysis respectively. X-ray excited luminescence spectrum was measured and the significant 4f²5d-4f³ luminescence at 173 nm was obtained from the grown crystal. The pulse height spectrum and scintillation decay curve were taken upon gamma-ray irradiation. As a result, grown crystal showed sufficient response to the gamma-ray and its scintillation decay was determined as fast as 7.6 nsec.