Rare Earth Doped Lithium Tetraborate as a Scintillation Detector

Monitoring the movement and the radiation of radioactive materials has been an important problem to solve in modern society, especially in homeland security and nuclear facilities. Due to low interaction with matter and a lack of charge, neutrons are difficult to detect. Various materials in the past have been utilized, however finding a material with a large neutron capture section as well as one that is blind to gamma rays is difficult. In our research, we have focused on lithium tetraborate, Li₂B₄O₇, a transparent crystalline material with great capability for neutron capture due to the nuclear isotopes  B¹⁰ and L⁶ , as well as its stability at a wide range of temperatures. Advantages and challenges of different dopant materials are also discussed.