Solid-state reaction method to ⁶Li, Ce:YAG ceramics for thermal neutron detection

ABSTRACT

The crystal structures and optical properties of 5% ⁶Li:Ce_0.09Y_2.91Al₅O₁₂ transparent ceramics prepared by solid-state reaction with different vacuum sintering temperature were investigated in this paper. The results reveal that with the increasing of sintering temperature, the transmittance of ⁶Li,Ce:YAG ceramics increases from 36% (1680°C) to 82% (1780°C) at 1000 nm, and the intensity of absorption peaks at 340 and 460 nm increases. The emission peak wavelengths of ⁶Li:Ce_0.09Y_2.91Al₅O₁₂ ceramics have been measured as 534.5 nm, and there is no red shift. The high transmittance and emission peak (at 534.5 nm) suggested that this material could be a candidate for neutron detection applications.

KEYWORDS:

• ⁶Li
• ce:YAG
• thermal neutron detection
• sintering temperature

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.