Optical and Scintillation Properties of the Thermal Neutron Scintillator Li$_{3}$ YCl$_{6}$ :Ce

The thermal neutron detection, X-ray detection, gamma detection and the optical properties of the chloride scintillator Li
₃
YCl
₆
:Ce are reported. Photo-luminescence (PL) and luminescence excitation spectra together with X-ray excited emission studies provide information on the scintillation and luminescence mechanism. Thermal neutron scintillation performance was investigated and compared with the performance of scintillators like Rb
₂
LiYBr
₆
:Ce and Cs
₂
LiYCl
₆
:Ce from the elpasolite family. The estimated absorption length for thermal neutrons (1.8 Å wavelength or 25 meV energy) is 0.8 mm in 95 %
⁶
Li-enriched Li
₃
YCl
₆
:Ce.