Materials Engineering of Alkali Halide and Rare Earth Halide Scintillators

Scintillators are the major components of radiation detection systems used in identification of Special Nuclear Materials. One of their key properties is the energy resolution (ER) that links directly to the isotope identification capabilities. Currently, the materials that provide high energy resolution (such as LaBr3:Ce) are expensive, while the low cost materials (such as NaI:Tl) provide poor energy resolution. The goal of this project is to utilize promising new pathway of material’s engineering to improve the ER of existing, lower cost materials and thereby increase the options available to systems manufacturers. It has been shown recently that many scintillation properties, including the ER, can be improved through the materials engineering approach of co-doping. Possibility of such improvements has been already demonstrated in rare earth tri-bromides and alkali halides. The objective is to pursue co-doping in selected materials and achieve 25% to 50% better resolution in crystals large enough for handheld instruments.