SCINTILLATION COMPOSITIONS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF
Disclosed herein is a composition comprising a solid solution of cerium halides and barium, strontium, and/or calcium halides. Disclosed herein too is a method of manufacturing a composition comprising mixing a cerium halide with a barium, strontium, and/or calcium halide; and firing the cerium halide and the barium halide to form a solid solution of the cerium halide and the barium, strontium, and/or calcium halide.
1 . A composition comprising:
a solid solution of cerium halides and barium, strontium, and/or calcium halides.
2 . The composition of claim 1 , having the formula of equation (I)
[Ce (1-x) A x ]Z 3 (I)
where Ce represents cerium, A represents barium, strontium, and/or calcium, x is an amount of about 0.01 to about 0.99 and Z represents a halogen.
3 . The composition of claim 2 , wherein Z is fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing halogens.
4 . The composition of claim 2 , wherein x is an amount of about 0.01 to about 0.95.
5 . The composition of claim 2 , wherein x is an amount of about 0.2 to about 0.8.
6 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the cerium halides are cerium chloride, cerium boride, cerium iodide, cerium fluoride, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing cerium halides.
7 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the barium, strontium, or calcium halides are barium, strontium, or calcium chlorides; barium, strontium, or calcium borides; barium, strontium, or calcium iodides; barium, strontium, or calcium fluorides or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing barium, strontium, or calcium halides.
8 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is in monocrystalline form.
9 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is in powder form.
10 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is in the form of a polycrystalline ceramic.
11 . An article comprising the composition of claim 1 .
12 . The article of claim 11 , wherein the article is a radiation detector.
13 . A method of manufacturing a composition comprising:
mixing a cerium halide with a barium, strontium, and/or calcium halide; and
firing the cerium halide and the barium halide to form a solid solution of the cerium halide and the barium, strontium, and/or calcium halide.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the firing is conducted at a temperature of about 500 to about 1,000° C.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the firing is conducted at a temperature of about 900° C.
16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the firing is conducted in an atmosphere free of oxygen and moisture.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the firing is conducted in an inert gas.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the inert gas is nitrogen, helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing inert gases.
19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the mixing is conducted in a blender, and wherein the blender is a ball mill, a bowl mill, a hammer mill, a jet mill, an extruder or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing blenders.
20 . An article manufactured by the method of claim 13 .