Bulk crystal growth, and high-resolution x-ray diffraction results of LiZnP semiconductor material

Abstract

Nowotny–Juza compounds continue to be explored as a candidate for solid-state neutron detectors. Such a device would have greater efficiency, in a compact form, than present day gas-filled 3He and 10BF3 detectors. The 6Li(n,t)4He reaction yields a total Q-value of 4.78MeV, larger than 10B, an energy easily identified above background radiations. Hence, devices fabricated from semiconducting compounds containing either natural Li (nominally 7.5% 6Li) or enriched 6Li (usually 95% 6Li) may provide a semiconductor material for compact high efficiency neutron detectors. Starting material was synthesized by preparing equimolar portions of Li, Zn, and P sealed under vacuum (10−6Torr) in quartz ampoules lined with boron nitride and subsequently reacted in a compounding furnace [1]. The synthesized material showed signs of high impurity levels from material and electrical property characterizations. A static vacuum sublimation in quartz was performed to help purify the synthesized material [2]. Bulk crystalline samples were grown from the purified material. An ingot 9.6mm in diameter and 4.0mm in length was harvested. Individual samples were characterized for crystallinity on a Bruker AXS Inc. D2 CRYSO, energy dispersive x-ray diffractometer, and a Bruker AXS D8 DISCOVER, high-resolution x-ray diffractometer with a 0.004° beam divergence. The (220) orientation was characterized as the main orientation with the D2 CRYSO, and confirmed with the D8 DISCOVER. An out-of-plane high-resolution rocking curve yielded a 0.417° full width at half maximum (FWHM) for the (220) LiZnP. In-plane ordering was confirmed by observation of the (311) orientation, where a rocking curve was collected with a FWHM of 0.294°.