Temperature Dependent Scintillation and Luminescence Characteristics of GdI$_{3}$: Ce$^{3+}$

Abstract

We investigated scintillation and luminescence properties of GdI3:1% Ce3+. It shows a light yield of 47 000 photons/MeV recorded with a Hamamatsu R1791 photomultiplier tube (PMT). Using an Advanced Photonix 630-70-73-510 avalanche photodiode (APD), the light output of this sample is 44 000 electron-hole pairs/MeV. The best energy resolution at 662 keV of 4.7% was recorded at 10degC with the APD with a shaping time of 0.5 mus. At room temperature (RT), the -scintillation decay curve of GdI3:1% Ce3+ shows a fast component of 45 ns, which is the same as the intrinsic Ce decay time, and that contributes 70% to the total light yield. GdI3:1% Ce3+ shows no afterglow at RT. Temperature dependence ranging from 80 to 600 K of X-ray excited emission spectra, pulse height spectra, scintillation decay curves and optically excited decay curves of Ce3+ emission are also presented.