Dosimetric and scintillation properties of Ce-doped Li3PO4-B2O3 glasses

Abstract

In this study, we developed Li3PO4-B2O3 glasses doped with different concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0%) of Ce and studied the optical, dosimetric and scintillation properties. The Ce-doped samples showed scintillation and photoluminescence (PL) due to the 5d–4f transitions of Ce3+ with a broad spectral feature peaking around 350 nm. The scintillation and PL decay times were 55–62 ± 0.03 ns and 29–31 ± 0.03 ns, respectively. The PL quantum yield (QY) was about 15.3 ± 2% for the 0.1%-doped sample, and it decreased with increasing the concentration of Ce. The thermally-stimulated luminescence (TSL) was observed in all the samples after irradiating with X-rays, and the 0.1% Ce-doped sample showed the highest sensitivity with the dynamic range confirmed from 0.1 mGy to 10 Gy, which was equivalent to commercial detectors. Moreover, optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) was observed in the 0.1%Ce-doped sample after X-ray irradiation. Overall, doping with Ce enhanced the PL, scintillation, TSL and OSL properties. The optimal concentration of Ce was 0.1% to be used for radiation detector applications.