Scintillation Characteristics of the SrCl $_{2}$ Single Crystal for the Neutrinoless $\beta^{+}$/EC Decay Search

The aim of this study is to develop scintillation crystals for the study of neutrinoless beta
⁺
/EC decay process. The
⁸⁴
Sr isotope is one of the potential candidates for the neutrinoless beta
⁺
/EC decay process. None of the scintillation crystals containing a strontium element up till now were used for the study of neutrinoless beta
⁺
/EC decay process. In general our crystal growth program include studies of starting material preparation, growth procedures and characterization of grown crystals. We grew a SrCl
₂
single crystal by using the Czochralski method. The cylindrical shape of the SrCl
₂
crystal was cut into the dimensions of Oslash2 times 1.5 cm
³
. The scintillation properties were studied by using various gamma ray sources and an alpha source. The scintillation properties such as energy resolution, light output, linearity and decay time were presented. In particular, the alpha/beta light ratio and possibility of a pulse shape discrimination between alpha and gamma quanta using a
²¹⁰
Po alpha source were studied.