Labr3:Ce scintillators for gamma ray spectroscopy

In this paper, we report on a relatively new scintillator -LaBr3 for gamma ray spectroscopy. Crystals of this scintillator have beengrown using Bridgman process. This material when doped with cerium hashigh light output (~;60,000 photons/MeV) and fast principal decayconstant (less than 25 ns). Furthermore, it shows excellent energyresolution for gamma-ray detection. Energy resolution of 3.2 percent(FWHM) has been achieved for 662 keV photons (137Cs source) at roomtemperature. High timing resolution (260 ps - FWHM) has been recordedwith LaBr3-PMT and BaF2-PMT detectors operating in coincidence mode using511 keV positron annihilation gamma-ray pairs. Details of itsscintillation properties, and variation of these properties with changingcerium concentration are reported. Potential applications of thismaterial are also addressed.