Growth of large detector crystals. CRADA final report

In the course of a collaborative research effort between L.A. Boatner of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Prof. Alex Lempicki of the Department of Chemistry of Boston University, a new highly efficient and very fast scintillator for the detection of gamma-rays was discovered. This new scintillator consists of a single crystal of lutetium orthophosphate (LuPO{sub 4}) to which a small percentage of trivalent cerium is added as an activator ion. The new lutetium orthophosphate-cerium scintillator was found to be superior in performance to bismuth germanium oxide--a material that is currently widely used as a gamma-ray detector in a variety of medical, scientific, and technical applications. Single crystals of LuPO{sub 4} and related rare-earth orthophosphates had been grown for a number of years in the ORNL Solid State Division prior to the discovery of the efficient gamma-ray-scintillation response of LuPO{sub 4}:Ce. The high-temperature-solvent (flux-growth) method used for the growth of these crystals was capable of producing crystals in sizes that were adequate for research purposes but that were inadequate for commercial-scale production and widespread application. The CRADA between ORNL and Deltronic Crystal Industries of Dover, NJ was undertaken for the purpose of investigating alternate approaches, such as top-seeded-solution growth, to the growth of LuPO{sub 4}:Ce scintillator crystals in sizes significantly larger than those obtainable through the application of standard flux-growth methods and, therefore, suitable for commercial sales and applications