Growth, optical, and luminescence characterization of LiCsMoO4 crystal

A crack-free LiCsMoO4 crystal was grown with the conventional Czochralski technique. The optical properties of the crystal show it transparent well in the visible region. The luminescence properties of the crystal were studied from 300 to 14 K under the excitation with a 280 nm light-emitting diode (LED). At room temperature, the luminescence light yield is low; however, it increases significantly at low temperatures. The decay time of the crystal is measured under the excitation of the crystal with the 280 nm LED source. The decay times at all the temperatures are fitted with three exponential functions. The average decay time from 300 to 14 K varies from 6.7 to 8.6 mu s. A thermoluminescence (TL) study of the crystal was carried out from 9 to 300 K. Three TL peaks are found between 165 and 250 K. This study shows that the developed crystal has a potential application in search of neutrinoless double-beta decay of Mo-100 at cryogenic temperatures.

Automated summary

A crack-free LiCsMoO4 crystal with good optical properties and enhanced luminescence at low temperatures was grown using the conventional Czochralski technique. The decay time of the crystal was measured and fitted with three exponential functions. Thermoluminescence study revealed three peaks between 165 and 250 K, indicating the potential application of the crystal in the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of Mo-100 at cryogenic temperatures.