Research status of inorganic scintillators based on lithium for neutron detection

Neutron detection technology is widely used in nuclear technology fields such as nuclear medicine, nuclear proliferation, and nuclear power generation, as well as in military and civilian scientific research fields such as high energy physics, non-destructive detection, biomedicine, border security, and new energy. In this paper, the existing inorganic scintillation materials based on lithium used for neutron detection are reviewed. Scintillation materials are divided into two categories: single-crystal scintillation materials (including single crystals with lithium in the molecular formula and lithium-doped single crystals) and eutectic scintillation materials. The performance characteristics of common and new scintillation materials are summarized, the advantages and limitations of scintillators are analyzed, and the solutions to improve the performance of scintillation materials are outlined. The development trend of scintillation materials for neutron detection is also presented to provide a reference for the research of neutron detection technology and scintillation materials.