LAUSR

Abstract In this paper we report on the crystal growth and characterization of 9-phenylcarbazole (PCz). Crystals of PCz were obtained by the solution growth technique. Several organic solvents were investigated including heptane, cyclohexane, toluene, xylene, methanol, ethanol, and acetone. The largest crystals of the highest quality were grown from acetone. Radioluminescence spectra of pure PCz crystals exhibit a broad emission band peaking at 381 nm. Adding a small amount of an impurity (dopant) shifts the emission wavelength to 446 nm which is a better match to standard bialkali photomultiplier tubes. Single crystals of pure PCz have low light yields (typically 252 Cf source yields a Figure of Merit (FOM) of about 2.7 at 1.0 MeVee cut-off energy. As far as we are aware, doped PCz is one of the brightest organic single crystal scintillators in existence and is a very promising organic neutron detector for a multitude of applications including homeland security, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear physics, and non-destructive testing.