# Effects of Proton-Induced Radiation Damage on CLYC and CLLBC Performance

## TL;DR

This study investigates how proton radiation damages CLYC and CLLBC scintillators, affecting their light output, resolution, and discrimination capabilities, crucial for space-based gamma-ray and neutron detection.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of proton-induced radiation effects on CLYC and CLLBC scintillators, quantifying performance degradation at various radiation doses.

## Key findings

- Radiation dose reduces light output and energy resolution.
- Pulse-shape discrimination performance degrades with increased radiation.
- Damage effects are dose-dependent and critical for space applications.

## Abstract

Cerium-doped Cs$_2$LiYCl$_6$ (CLYC) and Cs$_2$LiLaBr$_x$Cl$_{6-x}$ (CLLBC) are scintillators in the elpasolite family that are attractive options for resource-constrained applications due to their ability to detect both gamma rays and neutrons within a single volume. Space-based detectors are one such application, however, the radiation environment in space can over time damage the crystal structure of the elpasolites, leading to degraded performance. We have exposed 4 samples each of CLYC and CLLBC to 800 MeV protons at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The samples were irradiated with a total number of protons of 1.3$\times$10$^{9}$, 1.3$\times$10$^{10}$, 5.2$\times$10$^{10}$, and 1.3$\times$10$^{11}$, corresponding to estimated doses of 0.14, 1.46, 5.82, and 14.6 kRad, respectively on the CLYC samples and 0.14, 1.38, 5.52, and 13.8 kRad, respectively on the CLLBC samples. We report the impact these radiation doses have on the light output, activation, gamma-ray energy resolution, pulse shapes, and pulse-shape discrimination figure of merit for CLYC and CLLBC.