Lithium Tetraborate as a Neutron Scintillation Detector: A Review
Elena Echeverria,
John McClory,
Lauren Samson,
Katherine Shene,
Juan A. Colón Santana,
Yaroslav Burak,
Volodymyr Adamiv,
Ihor Teslyuk,
Lu Wang,
Wai-Ning Mei,
Kyle A. Nelson,
Douglas S. McGregor,
Peter A. Dowben,
Carolina C. Ilie,
James Petrosky,
Archit Dhingra
Affiliations
Elena Echeverria
Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University, 145 Physical Sciences Bldg., Rm 546, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
John McClory
Department of Engineering Physics, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2950 Hobson Way, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433, USA
Lauren Samson
Physics Department, SUNY Oswego, 254 Shineman Center, Oswego, NY 13126, USA
Katherine Shene
Physics Department, SUNY Oswego, 254 Shineman Center, Oswego, NY 13126, USA
Juan A. Colón Santana
Department of Physics, Aurora University, 347 S. Gladstone Ave., Aurora, IL 60506-4892, USA
Yaroslav Burak
Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Str., 79-005 Lviv, Ukraine
Volodymyr Adamiv
Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Str., 79-005 Lviv, Ukraine
Ihor Teslyuk
Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov Str., 79-005 Lviv, Ukraine
Lu Wang
CAS Key Lab of Materials for Energy Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China, Jinzhai Road 96, Hefei 230026, Anhui Province, China
Wai-Ning Mei
Department of Physics, University of Nebraska–Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
Kyle A. Nelson
S.M.A.R.T. Laboratory, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Douglas S. McGregor
S.M.A.R.T. Laboratory, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Peter A. Dowben
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 855 North 16th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Carolina C. Ilie
Physics Department, SUNY Oswego, 254 Shineman Center, Oswego, NY 13126, USA
James Petrosky
Department of Engineering Physics, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2950 Hobson Way, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433, USA
Archit Dhingra
Institut de Ciència dels Materials de la Universitat de València (ICMUV), University of Valencia, Carrer del Catedrátic José Beltrán Martinez, 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
The electronic structure and translucent nature of lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7) render it promising as a scintillator medium for neutron detection applications. The inherently large neutron capture cross-section due to 10B and 6Li isotopes and the ease with which Li2B4O7 can be enriched with these isotopes, combined with the facile inclusion of rare earth dopants (occupying the Li+ sites), are expected to improve the luminescent properties, as well as the neutron detection efficiency, of Li2B4O7. The electronic structure of both doped and undoped Li2B4O7 were explored, using photoemission and inverse photoemission spectroscopies, optical measurements, and theoretical computational studies such as density functional theory. The scintillation properties are further enhanced because of the wide bandgap, making Li2B4O7 extremely translucent, so that capturing the neutron scintillation output is neither hindered nor diminished. Therefore, in this review, demonstrations of the possible amplification of neutron capture efficiencies, courtesy of rare-earth dopants, along with insights into a significantly large charge production (associated with neutron capture), are presented.
