Speaker
Description
The high cost, low yield and inconsistency of crystal growth are among the main obstacles for the introduction of new materials to widespread application in various detection devices. In-situ diagnostics during crystal growth can be very helpful for the optimization of the growth process of a specific material. Neutrons appear to be unique probes providing information on the distribution of elements via nuclear resonance absorption, location of liquid/solid interfaces via different contrasts between elements and some information on the crystallographic structure (such as mosaicity) via Bragg scattering. Recent development of in-situ neutron imaging technique conducted at pulsed neutron sources demonstrate the possibility to visualize in real time (in crystal growth terms) the location of the liquid/solid interface, uniformity of crystal orientation and lattice parameter as well as elemental distribution. In this paper we demonstrate how crystal growth parameters can be optimized in-situ allowing substantial reduction of time required for the optimization of growth conditions. We performed in-situ imaging during crystal growth of several gamma scintillator materials: BaBrCl:Eu, Cs2LiLaBr6:Ce, CsI:Eu and others. These crystals were grown by the Bridgman process performed within a dedicated furnace, designed specifically for neutron imaging. Our experiments demonstrate the unique capabilities of energy-resolved neutron imaging to measure various characteristics of crystal growth process with sub-mm spatial resolution and with a ~minute timing resolution, sufficient for slow crystal growth processes.
| Speakers Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Level of Expertise | Experienced Research |
