RbGd/sub 2/Br/sub 7/:Ce scintillators for gamma-ray and thermal neutron detection

In this paper, we report on gamma-ray and thermal neutron detection with RbGd/sub 2/Br/sub 7/:Ce scintillators. RbGd/sub 2/Br/sub 7/:Ce (RGB) is a new scintillator material that shows high light output (56000 photons/MeV) and has a fast principal decay constant (45 ns) when doped with 10% Ce. These properties make RGB an attractive scintillator for /spl gamma/-ray detection. Also, due to the presence of Gd as a constituent, RGB has a high cross-section for thermal neutron absorption and can achieve close to 100% stopping efficiency with 0.5-mm-thick RGB crystals. Crystals of RGB with three different Cc concentrations (0.1, 5, and 10%) have been grown. Their basic scintillation properties such as light output, decay time, and emission spectrum have been measured. In addition, high-efficiency thermal neutron detection has been confirmed in our studies.