Synthesis of a potential semiconductor neutron detector crystal LiGa(Se/Te)2: materials purity and compatibility effects

Ashley C. Stowe; J. Morrell; Pijush Battacharya; Eugene Tupitsyn; Arnold Burger

doi:10.1117/12.894968

27 September 2011 Synthesis of a potential semiconductor neutron detector crystal LiGa(Se/Te)₂: materials purity and compatibility effects

Ashley C. Stowe, J. Morrell, Pijush Battacharya, Eugene Tupitsyn, Arnold Burger

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8142, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XIII; 81421H (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894968
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Lithium containing A^IB^IIIC^VI semiconductors are being considered as alternative materials for room temperature neutron detection. One of the primary challenges in growing a high quality crystal of such a material is the reactivity of lithium metal. The presence of nitrides, oxides, and a variety of alkali and alkaline earth metal impurities prevent pure synthesis and truncate crystal growth by introducing multiple nucleation centers during growth. Multiple lithium metal purification methods have been investigated which ultimately raised the metal purity to 99.996%. Multi-cycle vacuum distillation removed all but 40 ppm of metal impurities in lithium metal. LiGa(Se/Te)₂ was then synthesized with the high purity lithium metal by a variety of conditions. Lithium metal reacts violently with many standard crucible materials, and thermodynamic studies were undertaken to insure that an appropriate crucible choice was made, with high purity iron and boron nitride crucibles being the least reactive practical materials. Once conditions were optimized for synthesis of the chalcopyrite, vertical Bridgman crystal growth resulted in red crystals. The optical, electronic, and thermodynamic properties were collected.

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Ashley C. Stowe, J. Morrell, Pijush Battacharya, Eugene Tupitsyn, and Arnold Burger "Synthesis of a potential semiconductor neutron detector crystal LiGa(Se/Te)₂: materials purity and compatibility effects", Proc. SPIE 8142, Hard X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Neutron Detector Physics XIII, 81421H (27 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894968

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