CsI Scintillation Crystal
Description:
Cesium iodide(CsI) crystals can be divided into three types based on the dopant, CsI(Tl), CsI(Na) and pure CsI, all of them are colorless transparent cubic crystals. CsI crystals have excellent scintillation properties, meaning they can efficiently convert incident radiation into visible light. This property makes CsI crystals widely used in scintillation detectors for measuring ionizing radiation such as gamma rays and X-rays.
Specifications:
| Pure CsI | CsI(TI) | CsI(Na) | Unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 4.51 | 4.53 | 4.51 |
g/cm3 |
| Melting Point | 894 | 894 | 894 | K |
| Hardness | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Mho |
| Cleavage plane | No | No | No | - |
| Light Output | 3500 | 56000 | 40000 | ph/MeV |
|
Decay time |
16 | 1020 | 630 | ns |
|
Wavelength of Emission Peak |
315 | 550 | 420 | nm |
|
Hygroscopic |
Slight | Slight | Yes | - |
| Refractive Index | 1.95 | 1.79 | 1.84 | - |
CsI(Tl) is the most typical alkali halide scintillation crystal apart from NaI(Tl). Its light output is 45% of that in NaI(Tl). Its emission spectrum has a broad band at 350-700 nm and a peak at 550 nm. Its emission spectrum can match well with SPD so that the read out system can be simplified. Since the decay time is dependent on the ionization capacity of a particle, it is suitable to detect heavy charged particles under strong gamma-ray background.
The luminescence efficiency of CsI(Na) is similar to that of NaI(Tl) crystals. The emission spectrum peaked at 420 nm can match well with PMT. Its temperature dependence is small and can be applied in high temperature and outer space environment. However, its disadvantage is that the luminescence decreases quickly in the low energy (less than 20 KeV) and hygroscopicity is stronger than that of CsI(Tl).
Pure CsI crystal is much less hygroscopic than CsI(Tl). Its emission consists of the fast intrinsic luminescence (10 ns) peacked around 305nm and a slow component (100-4000 ns) around 350-600 nm. After intensive efforts to suppress the slow component, the fast/slow ratio can reach as large as 4:1. The total light output is as large as 5-7% of NaI:Tl. The possible application of this crystal lies its fast timing characteristics.
