6LiInSe2 and 6LiIn0.5Ga0.5Se2 Semiconductor Thermal Neutron Detectors

Semiconductor crystals of
⁶
LiInSe
2
and
⁶
LiIn
0.5
Ga
0.5
Se
2
were grown through Vertical Bridgman (VB) technique using enriched lithium (
⁶
Li). The materials were characterized for electronic and optical properties. Thermal neutron detectors were fabricated and characterized. Pulse height spectra were collected from an
²⁴¹
AmBe neutron source and a
⁶⁰
Co gamma-ray source. The measured resistivity, bandgap and mobility lifetime product of the samples are reported and compared. The thermal neutron detection efficiency of the
⁶
LiInSe
2
, , and
⁶
LiGaInSe
2
were also estimated and reported using Geant4 simulation and was compared with the fundamental calculation. Furthermore, the devices performance at elevated temperature (~50 °C) and room-temperature (RT) were also experimentally investigated and the results were compared.