Behavior of Cs2LiYCl6:Ce scintillator up to 175°C

Cs₂LiYCl₆:Ce (CLYC) is a promising crystal scintillator for gamma ray and neutron detection. Like many elpasolite crystal scintillators, it exhibits outstanding energy linearity. The crystal contains lithium and is capable of excellent gamma ray/neutron discrimination using pulse shape differences. The largest contributor to pulse shape differences is gamma interactions which produce very fast core-valence luminescence (CVL). Current interest exists in examining the potential for CLYC in neutron well logging and other applications which require operating at extreme temperatures. Experiments have been performed which investigate the scintillation properties of CLYC from -40° C to 175° C. Light output, pulse shape discrimination (PSD) ability, and the gamma ray equivalent energy (GEE) of the neutron reactions are among the properties examined. At higher temperatures, the light output from gamma rays remains strong, but the GEE decreases. The PSD also degrades due to reduction of CVL.