${\text{Tl}_2}{\text{LiYCl}_6}$ (${\text{Ce}^{3 + }}$): New Tl-based Elpasolite Scintillation Material

New single crystals of Ce-doped (1% and 10%) Tl
₂
LiYCl
₆
(TLYC) were investigated under X-ray and -y-ray excitation. This material belongs to Chloro-elpasolite crystal family and was grown by the two-zone vertical Bridgman technique. X-ray-induced luminescence shows typical Ce
³⁺
- ion emission between 350 and 530 nm peaking at 430 nm. Under 662 keV -y-rays excitation, best energy resolution of 4.8% (FWHM) was found for 1% Ce-concentration. For the same Ce-concentration, a maximum light yield of ~30 500 ± 3500 ph/MeV was observed at room temperature. Under -y-ray excitation, three decay time components were observed for all Ce-doped samples. Effective Z-number and density of Tl
₂
LiYCl
₆
were found to be 69 and 4.58 g/cm
³
, respectively. Due to highly hygroscopic nature of this compound, extra attention was devoted during handling and data taking processes. Overall, the scintillation properties confirm that this material is a promising candidate for medical imaging and radiation detection.