RbGd{sub 2}Br{sub 7}:Ce scintillators for gamma ray and thermal neutron detection

In this paper, we report on gamma ray and thermal neutron detection with RbGd2Br7:Ce scintillators. RbGd2Br7:Ce (RGB) is a new scintillator material, which shows high light output (56,000 photons/MeV) and has a fast principal decay constant (45 ns) when doped with 10% Ce. These properties make RGB an attractive scintillator for g-ray detection. Also, due to the presence of Gd as a constituent, RGB has a high cross section for thermal neutron absorption and can achieve close to 100% stopping efficiency with 0.5 mm thick RGB crystals. Crystals of RGB with three different Ce concentrations (0.1, 5, and 10%) have been grown and their basic scintillation properties such as light output, decay time, and emission spectrum have been measured. In addition, high efficiency thermal neutron detection has been confirmed in our studies