A high light-yield neutron scintillator based on Ce³⁺-doped lithium glass

The development of low-cost and highly efficient thermal neutron detection materials to substitute the rare and expensive ³He gas is important for applications requiring thermal neutron detection. Lithium-based glass (Li glass) is a promising candidate due to its simple fabrication process and low cost. This paper reports the optical properties and scintillation performance of a new Ce³⁺-doped Li glass, whose luminescence efficiency is significantly enhanced with a light yield of about 4770 ph/MeV, which is about 54% of that of BGO crystal, and the energy resolution is 14.5% for 662 keV gamma rays. The Ce³⁺-doped Li glass shows a high light yield of about 7058 ph/neutron, which is about 1.18 times that of the reference GS20 glass. The Ce³⁺-doped Li glass exhibits stronger gamma ray suppression capability compared to GS20 glass samples. Further optimizing the Ce³⁺ concentration and ⁶Li content is expected to achieve much superior neutron detection efficiency, positioning it as a promising alternative to ³He gas for efficient thermal neutron detection.