Single crystal growth of 2 in. diameter LiI:Eu in carbon coated crucible and effect of post growth thermal treatment on scintillation

This study focuses on economically and efficiently growing 2-inch diameter, 2-inch length LiI:Eu single crystals using Bridgman technique in carbon coated quartz crucible. Further, the impact of growth rate variation to expedite crystal growth is investigated and the influence of heat treatment on grown crystal and its scintillation properties is explored. Our research demonstrates more than 1.5-fold improvement in the scintillation light yield after heat treatment for the LiI:Eu crystals grown at translation rate of 2.5 mm/hr. Furthermore, more than twofold enhancement in scintillation light yield for both gamma and thermal neutron radiations in LiI:Eu crystals grown at 1 mm/hr rate is observed after vacuum heat treatment at 300 degrees C.