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In recent years, thermal neutron detection using scintillators has been used in a wide range of fields. Thus, the development of scintillators with a higher light yield, faster decay, and higher sensitivity for thermal neutrons is required. In this study, K2CeCl5/6LiCl and CeCl3/SrCl2/6LiCl were developed as novel eutectic scintillators for thermal neutron detection. LiCl was selected as the neutron capture phase and K2CeCl5 and CeCl3 were used as the scintillator phases. The eutectics of K2CeCl5/6LiCl and CeCl3/SrCl2/6LiCl were prepared using the Vertical Bridgman method and the phases were identified by scanning electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction measurements. The results of radioluminescence measurements under Ag source X-ray tube irradiation confirmed that the 5d-4f emission derived from Ce3+. The cathodoluminescence spectra and thermal neutron responses of the prepared eutectics were measured to evaluate their optical properties.

In this article, we report the growth of Cd 0.9 Zn 0.1 Te 0.97 Se 0.03 (CZTS) wide bandgap semiconductor single crystals for room temperature gamma-ray detection using a modified vertical Bridgman method. Charge transport properties measured in the radiation detectors, fabricated from the grown CZTS crystals, indicated signs of hole trapping. Hole traps inhibit high-resolution radiation detection especially for energetic gamma rays. Machine learning (ML) applications are gaining tremendous impetus in improving device and sensor performance by compensating for limitations arising from such intrinsic material properties. In this article, we describe a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) that has demonstrated remarkable efficiency in identifying the energy of a gamma photon detected by a CZTS detector. The CNN has been trained using simulated data that resemble output pulses from actual CZTS detectors when exposed to 662-keV gamma photons. The device properties required for the simulation have been derived from radiation detection measurements on a real Cd 0.9 Zn 0.1 Te 0.97 Se 0.03 detector fabricated in our laboratory. The CNN has been trained with detector pulses arising through photoelectric (PE) and Compton scattering (CS) separately. The percentage error in predicting the detected energies, within an extremely small duration of 0.28 ms, was found to be lower than 0.1% for gamma energies above 50 keV and for training datasets containing PE and CS events separately. The CNN was also validated for a mixed PE and CS dataset to obtain a prediction error of 1%. The effect of detector resolution on the efficiency of the CNN was also explored.

The single-crystal lithium hydride (LiH) generally grows in a gradient temperature region with the Bridgman method. A stable and appropriate temperature gradient is crucial in the crystallization process. In this paper, the temperature variation of single-crystal LiH growth is calculated by the finite element method (FEM). It is shown that the LiH compact melted entirely after heating to 750 °C at 10 °C/min in a dual-temperature furnace and holding for 2.4 h. The crystallization margin was 46.5 °C after holding for 5 h. The crystallization margin of LiH at the cone point, respectively, decreased to 33.7 °C, 28.6 °C, 25.6 °C, and 16.5 °C when the upper furnace was maintained at 750 °C, and lower furnace was cooled to 680 °C, 650 °C, 630 °C, and 550 °C, respectively. The optimal conditions for obtaining large size and high-quality LiH single crystals were predicted to be 630 °C at a lower-temperature-zone, 200 mL/min (cooling water flux), and 20 mm/h rise rate of the furnace. Based on the parameters of the above simulation, we synthesized LiH single crystal. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the LiH single crystal exhibited a (2 0 0) crystallographic plane at 44.5° with good chemical stability in air.

PbF2 single crystals are usually grown in the temperature gradient region by the Bridgman–Stockbarger method. Temperature distribution during the growth process is particularly important for the preparation of high-quality crystals. In this study, the temperature field during the growth of the PbF2 single crystals was simulated based on the finite element method. The temperature distribution and temperature gradient changes in the crucible were investigated at different growth stages, including the seeding, shouldering, and iso-diameters stages. The calculated results show that as the crucible position continues downward during the growth process, the axial temperature gradient increases and then decreases from the bottom to the top of the crucible, with almost flat isotherms near the solid–liquid interface where the axial temperature gradient is larger. At the shoulder below the crucible, the solid–liquid interface was improved by adjusting the tilt angle. Furthermore, based on a novel design of the heat-insulating baffle, the concave solid–liquid interface in the iso-diameter stage can be effectively adjusted to realize a lower radial temperature gradient. This study provides theoretical guidance for the optimization of the growth of high-quality PbF2 crystals by the Bridgman method.

FeIn 2 S 3.6 Se 0.4 single crystals are grown by planar crystallization of the melt (the vertical Bridgman method). The composition and crystal structure of the crystals are determined. It is established that the single crystals crystallize with the formation of the cubic spinel structure. From the transmittance spectra in the region of the fundamental absorption edge, the band gap of the single crystals is determined. Thermal expansion of the FeIn 2 S 3.6 Se 0.4 single crystals is studied by the dilatometric technique in the temperature range from 80 to 550 K, and the coefficients of thermal expansion are determined. From the coefficients of thermal expansion determined, the Debye temperatures and the root-mean-square (rms) dynamic displacements of atoms are calculated. It is shown that, as temperature is elevated, the Debye temperatures decrease and the rms dynamic displacements of atoms increase. Magnetic studies show that the FeIn 2 S 3.6 Se 0.4 single crystals are paramagnetic materials at temperatures down to 12.4 K.

The 3He gas is commonly used for the detection of thermal neutrons. However, with the depletion of 3He gas, there is a need to develop new solid scintillators for thermal neutron detection. Solid scintillators containing 6Li, which have large neutron capture cross-sections and a large amount of energy released by transmutation reactions, are commonly used as alternative candidates. However, only single-crystal scintillators are currently used, and their 6Li concentration is limited by their chemical composition. In this study, we designed, grew, and evaluated a new eutectic scintillator, Rb2CeCl5/LiCl, which can improve the 6Li concentration compared with single-crystal scintillators. Rb2CeCl5, which was selected as the scintillator phase, has excellent scintillator properties (light yield: 36,000 photons/MeV, decay time: mostly 24 ns, slightly 153 ns), and is less deliquescent than other halide scintillators. The crystal grown using the vertical Bridgman method exhibited a eutectic phase composed of Rb2CeCl5 and LiCl. The eutectic crystals exhibited Ce3+ 5d-4f emissions, with a peak between 360 and 370 nm. The Rb2CeCl5 phase was identified as the luminescent phase via cathodoluminescence mapping, and 16,000 photons/neutron of the light yield and 56.1 ns of the decay time were observed. This study indicates that the Rb2CeCl5/LiCl eutectic scintillator is a promising candidate for use in thermal neutron detectors.

A method for the preparation of extra-pure Na 2 CO 3 powder has been developed. The method is based on a fractional crystallization of Na 2 CO 3 from its saturated solutions and its conversion into sodium formate, followed by a melt crystallization. To obtain the final product Na 2 CO 3 , the recrystallized sodium formate was thermally decomposed. The contents of Th and U in the purified powder were below 10 ppt, the concentrations of Mn, Co, Ba, and Pb were not above 3 ppb, the concentrations of Cu and Sr were on the level of tens of ppb, and the K concentration was about 200 ppb. The ICP-MS analysis showed that the purity of the obtained powder significantly surpasses that for commercial products in 99.997 and 99.999% purity grades. The sodium carbonate powder thus obtained is going to be used as initial material for growing scintillation single crystals in experiments searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) or dark matter.

Single crystals of pure magnesium were fabricated in this study by employing the modified Bridgman method. To determine the exact orientation of crystals, electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) method was employed in this study. Dimensions of single crystals were 10 mm in diameter and 120 mm in length. Single crystals with near basal, pyramidal, and near prismatic orientations were obtained, on which hardness and compression tests were conducted. It has been revealed that hardness and the strength strongly depended on the orientation. While the hardness of pyramidal orientation was highest and that of near prismatic orientation was lowest, the compressive strength along near prismatic orientation appeared to be highest and that along prismatic orientation was lowest.

Halide perovskites have shown great potential for X-ray detection in medical imaging and product inspection applications. However, the ion migration in perovskites causes large noise and baseline drift, deteriorating the X-ray detection and imaging performance. Here we adopt the atmosphere-controlled edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method to grow high-quality shape-controlled CsPbBr 3 single crystals (SCs) in an Ar and HBr mixed atmosphere. Compared with the vertical Bridgman (VB)-CsPbBr 3 SCs, the EFG-CsPbBr 3 SCs show a much lower trap density, a higher resistivity (1.61 × 10 10  Ω cm) and a larger ion migration activation energy (0.378 eV), decreasing the leakage current and baseline drift. An X-ray detector based on EFG-CsPbBr 3 SCs hence exhibits outstanding balanced performance, with a negligible dark-current drift of 1.68 × 10 −9  μA cm −1  s −1  V −1 , an incredibly low detection limit of 10.81 nGy air  s −1 and a sensitivity of 46,180 μC Gy air −1  cm −2 under a high electric field of 5,000 V cm −1 . Furthermore, the detector maintains a stable response for 30 days. Our work provides an effective strategy to improve lead-halide perovskite SCs for high-performance X-ray detection and imaging. The researchers improve the properties of halide perovskite for high-performance X-ray detection by edge-defined film-fed crystal growth. In particular, high resistivity, low trap density, suppressed ion migration and reduced leakage current are demonstrated. They enable detectors with an extremely low detection limit and high sensitivity.

Zinc germanium phosphide (ZnGeP2) is an important nonlinear crystal for mid-infrared conversion, but its performance is limited by residual absorption and intrinsic impurity phases. In this study, polycrystalline ZnGeP2 was synthesized by a modified two-temperature method, purified by inclined directional recrystallization for up to three cycles, and then grown into single crystals by the vertical Bridgman method. The resulting material was examined by shadow-projection imaging, transmission spectroscopy in the 650–2500 nm range, absorption measurements at 2.097 µm, laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) testing, and powder X-ray diffraction. Repeated purification improved optical homogeneity and near-infrared transparency, while the absorption coefficient at 2.097 µm decreased from 0.45 to 0.30 cm−1 after three purification cycles. Semi-quantitative PXRD analysis showed progressive suppression of intrinsic impurity phosphides, with phase purity increasing from 86.31% after the first cycle to 95.995% after the second and reaching 100% after the third within the detection limit of the method. However, the LIDT decreased with increasing purification number, indicating a trade-off between lower optical losses and damage resistance. These results demonstrate that inclined directional recrystallization is an effective pre-growth purification route for ZnGeP2 and that the optimal number of purification cycles should be selected according to the intended application.