The growth and scintillation properties of CsCe₂Cl₇ crystal

We report on a new scintillation crystal, CsCe₂Cl₇, for γ-ray spectroscopy. The crystal was grown using the Czocralski pulling method. X-ray excited luminescence measurements of the CsCe₂Cl₇ showed a broad emission band in the wavelength range from 370 to 470 nm with a peak centre at 410 nm. An energy resolution (FWHM of peak position) for the 662 keV full energy peak of 5.5% was observed at room temperature. The results showed a good proportionality for light output versus γ-ray energy. The light output deviation from the linear response is about 10% between the energy range of 31 and 1333 keV. We measured a light yield of 28,000 photons/MeV of absorbed γ-ray energy. The scintillation decay curve of CsCe₂Cl₇ can be described by a single exponential decay function with a decay time of 50 ns. Overall, these measurements clearly indicate that CsCe₂Cl₇ can exhibit attracting scintillation properties, and we believe that the CsCe₂Cl₇ crystal is a promising material for medical imaging and radiation detection.