Lithium Fluoride Thin Films Research Articles

Visible proton Bragg curve imaging by colour centre photoluminescence in radiation detectors based on lithium fluoride films on silica

Passive solid-state radiation detectors, based on the visible photoluminescence (PL) of radiation-induced colour centres in optically transparent lithium fluoride (LiF), polycrystalline thin films are under investigation for proton beam advanced diagnostics. After proton exposure, the latent images stored in LiF as local formations of stable F2 and F3 + aggregate defects, are directly read with a fluorescence microscope under illumination in the blue spectral range. Adopting a suitable irradiation geometry, the energy density that protons deposit in the material can be recorded as a spatial distribution of these light-emitting defects, from which a luminous replica of the proton Bragg curve can be thereafter extracted and analysed to reconstruct the proton beam energy spectrum. Their peculiar properties, such as wide dynamic range and linearity of the spectrally-integrated PL response vs. dose, make the investigation of two-dimensional LiF film radiation detectors grown on several types of substrate highly attractive. Here, the case of a LiF thin film thermally evaporated on a silica substrate, irradiated at grazing incidence with a 35 MeV proton beam, is investigated and reported for the first time. A comparison of the measured photoluminescent Bragg curve with Monte Carlo simulations demonstrates that the Bragg peak in the film is located at the very same position that would be expected in the underlying silica substrate rather than in LiF. The film packing density is shown not to have a significant effect on the peak depth, while even small nonzero grazing angle of the impinging proton beam is able to significantly modify the shape of the Bragg curve. These findings are ascribed to the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering in both the film and the substrate and are interesting for proton beam diagnostics and dosimetry.

Visible Radiophotoluminescence of Color Centers in Lithium Fluoride Thin Films for High Spatial Resolution Imaging Detectors for Hard X-rays

Passive solid-state detectors based on the visible radiophotoluminescence (RPL) of stable aggregate F2 and F3 + color centers in lithium fluoride (LiF) are successfully used for X-ray imaging and advanced diagnostics of intense X-rays sources. Among their advantages, these detectors offer a wide dynamic range and simplicity of use. They can be read non-destructively using a fluorescence microscope, enabling high spatial resolution over a large field of view. Optically transparent LiF films, of three different increasing thicknesses, were grown by thermal evaporation on glass and silicon substrates and subsequently irradiated with monochromatic 7 keV X-rays at several doses from 1.3 × 101 to 4.5 × 103 Gy at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility. For all the LiF films, the RPL response was found to depend linearly on the irradiation dose, with films grown on Si(100) substrates exhibiting up to a 50% higher response compared to those grown on glass. A minimum dose of 13 Gy was detected, despite the low thickness of the irradiated films. The limited thickness of the homogeneously colored LiF film allowed to obtain a spatial resolution of (0.44 ± 0.04) μm in edge-enhancement imaging experiments conducted by placing an Au mesh in front of the samples.

Bragg Curve Detection of Low-Energy Protons by Radiophotoluminescence Imaging in Lithium Fluoride Thin Films.

Lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals and thin films are utilized as radiation detectors for energy diagnostics of proton beams. This is achieved by analyzing the Bragg curves in LiF obtained by imaging the radiophotoluminescence of color centers created by protons. In LiF crystals, the Bragg peak depth increases superlinearly with the particle energy. A previous study has shown that, when 35 MeV protons impinge at grazing incidence onto LiF films deposited on Si(100) substrates, the Bragg peak in the films is located at the depth where it would be found in Si rather than in LiF due to multiple Coulomb scattering. In this paper, Monte Carlo simulations of proton irradiations in the 1-8 MeV energy range are performed and compared to experimental Bragg curves in optically transparent LiF films on Si(100) substrates. Our study focuses on this energy range because, as energy increases, the Bragg peak gradually shifts from the depth in LiF to that in Si. The impact of grazing incidence angle, LiF packing density, and film thickness on shaping the Bragg curve in the film is examined. At energies higher than 8 MeV, all these quantities must be considered, although the effect of packing density plays a minor role.

Comparative research fluorine and colloidal aggregate formation on the surface lithium fluoride thin films during electronic, ionic and thermal treatments

In this study, we present the results of our investigation of fluorine and colloidal aggregate formation in the LiF/Si(111) system as a function of substrate temperature and electron and ion beams. Excitons generated by electron or ion irradiation will form a stable F-H pair, which subsequently forms aggregate centres before their coalescence into fluoride and colloidal macromolecules. Additionally, after annealing the LiF film, colloids and anionic complexes are formed on the surface. The experimental data show the formation of colloids after 5 min of annealing at a temperature of 75 °C. Furthermore, when the LiF films annealed at a temperature of 400 °C, chemical reactions on the surface, such as the formation of silicide, are excited. The obtained experimental data show that an increase in the target temperature during the formation of primary point defects and their association can be represented by the migration of their components on the surface.

Optical characterization of lithium fluoride thin-film imaging detectors for monochromatic hard X-rays

Lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals and thin films have been successfully investigated as X-ray imaging detectors based on optical reading of visible photoluminescence emitted by stable radiation-induced F2 and F+ 3 colour centres. In this work, the visible photoluminescence response of optically-transparent LiF film detectors of three different thicknesses, grown by thermal evaporation on Si(100) substrates and irradiated with monochromatic 7 keV X-rays at several doses in the range between 13 and 4.5 × 103 Gy, was carefully investigated by fluorescence optical microscopy. For all the film thicknesses, the photoluminescence response linearly depends on the irradiation dose in the investigated dose range. The lowest detected dose, delivered to the thinnest LiF film, only 0.5 μm thick, is estimated 13 Gy. Edge-enhancement imaging experiments, conducted by irradiating LiF film detectors at the same energy placing an Au mesh in front of them at a distance of 15 mm, allowed estimating a spatial resolution of (0.38 ± 0.05) μm, which is comparable to the microscope one. This very high spatial resolution in LiF film radiation detectors based on colour centres photoluminescence is combined with the availability of a wide field of view on large areas.

Proton Bragg peak imaging by colour centre radiophotoluminescence in lithium fluoride thin film radiation detectors on silicon

Optically transparent lithium fluoride (LiF) thin films, thermally evaporated on Si(100) substrates, are under investigation as novel radiation detectors based on radiophotoluminescence for imaging of the full Bragg curves of proton beams produced by a linear accelerator for proton therapy under development at ENEA C.R. Frascati. Proton irradiation induces the formation of stable colour centres in LiF, amongst which the broadband light-emitting F2 and F3+ aggregate defects, whose concentrations are locally proportional to the energy deposited in the material. Their spatial distributions in the irradiated LiF thin films and crystals are carefully measured by acquiring the latent two-dimensional visible fluorescence images with an optical microscope under blue lamp excitation. Several LiF films grown on silicon substrate were irradiated in air at increasing proton energies up to 35 MeV with their surface parallel to the particle beam and a cleaved edge perpendicularly facing it; for each sample, the fluorescence image acquired from the top surface side of the film allows to obtain the depth profile of the energy released by protons. Differences in colour centre distributions detected in LiF films with respect to LiF crystals are presented and discussed. Accurate Monte Carlo simulations allow to fully explain their experimental behaviours, paving the way towards using LiF film radiation detectors on silicon for the advanced diagnostics of proton beams at typical particle energies used for proton therapy.

(Digital Presentation) Color Centers Photoluminescence in Lithium Fluoride Thin-Film-on-Silicon Detectors for Proton Bragg Curves Imaging

The photoluminescence (PL) properties of radiation-induced color centers (CCs) in lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals and thin films find applications in optically-pumped solid-state lasers and photonic light-emitting microdevices operating at room temperature (RT) in the visible and near-infrared spectral range [1]. Among their peculiarities, the broad tunability and high emission quantum efficiency, combined with the wide optical transparency of the hosting LiF matrix.On the other hand, LiF dosimeters based on thermoluminescence (TL) of point defects in LiF crystals and pellets have been the most widely used family of phosphors in TL dosimetry, mainly for their high radiation sensitivity at low doses and the LiF tissue-equivalence, which is essential for meaningful medical applications.The excellent thermal and optical stabilities of the laser-active F2 and F3 + electronic defects, consisting of two electrons bound to two and three adjacent anion vacancies, respectively, whose efficient visible photoluminescence is located in the green-red spectral range under simultaneous excitation with blue-light pumping, make radiation detectors based on LiF crystals and thin films attractive for X-ray imaging [2] at nanoscale, related to the atomic-scale dimensions of such point defects.These passive radiation imaging sensors are based on the optical reading of visible radiophotoluminescence (RPL) of aggregate CCs locally created and stored in LiF, by using conventional and advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques for latent images acquisition.In the last years they were successfully tested for proton beam advanced diagnostics and dosimetry at increasing energies from 1.5 to 35 MeV, showing a linear RPL response as a function of absorbed doses in a wide dynamic range [4], long-term stability against fading and non-destructive reading capability. With suitable irradiation geometries of LiF crystals, it is possible to record the energy that protons deposit in the material (Bragg curve) as a bi-dimensional spatial distribution of luminescent CCs, even at dose values below 50 Gy, typically utilized in protontheraphy [5].We have been investigating the feasibility to extend this approach to optically transparent LiF thin films thermally evaporated on Si(100) substrates. Despite of their low thickness, we take advantage of the enhanced PL response of F2 and F3 + CCs, related to the presence of the flat and smooth Si substrate [6], which is optically reflective at the excitation and emission wavelengths utilized in the fluorescence microscope. The irradiations were performed with proton beams produced by the linear accelerator TOP-IMPLART (Oncological Therapy with Protons - Intensity Modulated Proton Linear Accelerator for RadioTherapy), under development at ENEA C.R. Frascati, with the cut edge perpendicular to the proton beam direction. The latent two-dimensional fluorescence images of the CC distributions generated in the polycrystalline LiF layers show a systematic increase in depth of the Bragg peak with respect to LiF crystals.The results obtained in LiF films at increasing proton energies are presented and discussed, also in comparison with those in LiF crystals, in order to explain the observed behaviors and highlight advantages and limits of versatile LiF film radiation detectors.[1] R. M. Montereali, in Handbook of Thin Film Materials, H. S. Nalwa, Editor, Vol.3: Ferroelectric and Dielectric Thin Films, Ch.7, p. 399, Academic Press, S. Diego (2002).[2] G. Baldacchini, F. Bonfigli, A. Faenov, F. Flora, R. M. Montereali, A. Pace, T. Pikuz, L. Reale, J. Nanosci. Nanotechno., 3, 483 (2003).[3] A. Ustione, A. Cricenti, F. Bonfigli, F. Flora, A. Lai, T. Marolo, R. M. Montereali, G. Baldacchini, A. Faenov, T. Pikuz and L. Reale, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, 2116 (2006).[4] M. Piccinini, F. Ambrosini, A. Ampollini, L. Picardi, C. Ronsivalle, F. Bonfigli, S. Libera, E. Nichelatti, M. A. Vincenti and R. M. Montereali, Appl. Phys. Lett., 106, 261108 (2015).[5] R.M. Montereali, E. Nichelatti, V. Nigro, M. Piccinini, M.A. Vincenti, ECS J. Solid State Sci. and Technol. 10, 116001 (2021).[6] M. A. Vincenti, M. Leoncini,S. Libera, A. Ampollini, A. Mancini, E. Nichelatti, V. Nigro, L. Picardi, M. Piccinini, C. Ronsivalle, A. Rufoloni, R. M. Montereali, Opt. Mater., 119, 111376 (2021).

Visible radiophotoluminescence of colour centres in lithium fluoride: from lasers to versatile radiation sensors

The peculiar photoluminescence characteristics of radiation-induced colour centres in lithium fluoride (LiF), well known for applications in optically-pumped tuneable lasers and broad-band miniaturised light-emitting photonic devices operating at room-temperature, are under exploitation in passive imaging detectors and dosimeters based on visible radiophotoluminescence in LiF crystals and polycrystalline thin films. Their high intrinsic spatial resolution, wide dynamic range and large field of view, combined with easy handling, ambient-light operation and no development need, allow to successfully extend their use from X-ray imaging to proton-beam advanced diagnostics and dosimetry, even at those low dose values that are typical of hadrontherapy. After exposure, the latent images stored in LiF as local formations of F2 and F3 + aggregate defects are read with an optical fluorescence microscope under illumination in the blue spectral range. Their visible emission intensity was found to be linearly proportional to the dose over at least three orders of magnitude, so that bi-dimensional LiF solid-state dosimeters based on spectrally-integrated radiophotoluminescence reading can be envisaged. Taking advantage of the low thickness of LiF thin films, transversal proton beam dose mapping was demonstrated at low proton energies, even at high doses. Recent results and advances concerning LiF crystals and polycrystalline thin film characterisation in the linearity range are presented and discussed with the aim of highlighting challenges related to increasing the LiF film detector radiation sensitivity to both particles (protons) and photons (X-rays), although therapeutic dose values typical of clinical radiotherapy are still a big challenge.

Photoluminescent Bragg curves in lithium fluoride thin films on silicon substrates irradiated with a 35 MeV proton beam

Proton irradiation of lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals and thin films causes the formation of electronic defects, known as color centers, in the crystal lattice, some of which show photoluminescence in the visible range under blue-light excitation. With a suitable irradiation geometry, the energy density that protons deposit in the material can be recorded as a spatial distribution of these light-emitting color centers, from which a luminous replica of the proton Bragg curve can be thereafter extracted and analyzed in a fluorescence microscope. In this paper, the cases of two LiF thin films deposited on silicon substrates and of a LiF crystal, all of them transversally irradiated with a nominal 35 MeV proton beam, are considered. A comparison of the measured photoluminescent Bragg curves with Monte Carlo simulations demonstrates (i) that the Bragg peaks in the films are located at the very same positions that would be expected in the underlying silicon substrates rather than in LiF and (ii) that an even small grazing angle of the impinging proton beam is able to significantly modify the shape of the Bragg curve in the films. Both of these findings are ascribed to the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering in both the film and the substrate. The coincidence of the Bragg peak positions with those expected in the silicon substrates and the possibility of visualizing such peaks in the Bragg curves stored as latent fluorescence images in the LiF films allow one to regard them as information transducers for proton beam diagnostics and dosimetry.

Influence of the irradiation of ions of different mass on the formation of surface defects of lithium fluoride thin films

We explore the experimental and simulation results of the formation of defects on the surface of lithium fluoride thin films under irradiation with different mass ions using total current (TC) spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) software package. A comparative study was carried out with ions of different masses, and inconsistencies in the occurring physical phenomena between our early concepts were found. It is shown that in the case of heavy ions irradiation, they are implanted and appear as substitutional atoms into the bulk of the crystal. For ions with the smallest ion mass, the distribution of interstitial defects is greater on the surface than in the bulk of the crystal. An attempt is made to explain the formation of some defects on the surface (formed peaks in the TC spectra) by the method of computer simulation.

Enhanced photoluminescence of F2 and F3+ colour centres in lithium fluoride film-based detectors for proton beams

In recent years, lithium fluoride (LiF) detectors based on the optical reading of photoluminescence emitted by radiation-induced F 2 and F 3 + colour centres have been successfully used for advanced diagnostics of proton beams. In this work, the visible photoluminescence response of LiF film-based radiation detectors of three different thicknesses, grown by thermal evaporation on glass and Si(100) substrates and irradiated with 27 MeV proton beams at doses in the range between 4.2 × 10 3 and 1.7 × 10 5 Gy, was carefully investigated by fluorescence optical microscopy. Before irradiation, the structural and morphological properties of LiF films were investigated by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Substrate-enhanced photoluminescence response up to 48% was observed in LiF film-based detectors grown on Si(100) substrates with respect to those deposited on glass in the same deposition run and irradiated in the same conditions. This photoluminescence enhancement can be mainly ascribed to the reflective properties of the Si substrate in the visible spectral range, where the emission bands of F 2 and F 3 + colour centres are located, combined with the proper choice of the film thickness. Other complex effects related to the polycrystalline nature of the LiF films cannot be excluded. • LiF thin films thermally-evaporated on glass and silicon as proton beam detectors. • Morphological and structural analysis performed by AFM and X-ray diffraction. • Radiophotoluminescence of colour centres investigated by fluorescence optical microscopy. • Substrate-enhanced photoluminescence response measured in LiF detectors grown on Si. • Enhanced photoluminescence response up to 48% depending on the LiF film thickness.

The Effects of the Rotational Speed of the Deposition Substrate on the Morphological and Current Injection Characteristics of LiF Thin Films.

In this study, we report the effects of the substrate rotational speed on the morphological characteristics of lithium fluoride (LiF) during thermal evaporation. LiF is used as a typical material in a vacuum-level shift-based electron injection layer and can improve both the charge injection and light emission properties when inserted into the electrode/organic material interface of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In general OLED research, rotary evaporation is widely used to ensure uniformity. However, there are few reports regarding the effects of this rotary evaporation method on the morphological characteristics of the thin films. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the effects of rotary variations on the morphological and electron injection characteristics during deposition. The root mean square roughness of the LiF thin film deposited on Alq₃ changed by up to 12.3%. Additionally, the driving voltage of the electron-only device showed a difference of 2.3 V at maximum and a change in the slope of the ohmic region was demonstrated. The morphological change in the LiF thin film based on the rotational speed of the substrate had a significant influence on the reaction at the electrode/organic material interface.

LiF by atomic layer deposition—Made easy

Lithium fluoride (LiF) is an integral part of UV optics. Recently, it has also gained attention for its role in the solid-electrolyte interphase on the anode of lithium-ion batteries. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is the preferred tool for synthesizing conformal and pin-hole free LiF thin films, especially on high aspect ratio structures. Present routes to deposit LiF by ALD are based on HF or HF-pyridine as the fluorine source, requiring strict safety precautions. Other routes involve TiF4 or WF6, resulting in inclusions of Ti or W impurities in the resulting films. Herein, we present a new route to deposit LiF by ALD, using lithium tert-butoxide (LiOtBu) and NH4F as precursors. The process yields uniform films over a broad temperature range (150–300 °C), with a growth per cycle of 50.9 pm/cycle (225 °C). The films are free from any nitrogen contamination from the NH4F precursor. This process provides a facile route for high purity LiF thin films with the use of less harmful precursor chemistry.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on Thermally Evaporated Lithium Fluoride Thin Films

Abstract Lithium fluoride thin films were successfully deposited on glass substrates using a well known vacuum evaporation method by means of resistive heating at (10-3Torr). These thin films were then annealed for 350°C, 400°C and 450°C respectively. The annealed thin films were characterized for structural surface morphological and optical properties; the annealing temperature strongly affects the properties of LiF thin films the crystallite size was found to increase with respect to increase in annealing temperature. The increase in annealing temperature also affects the optical properties of the LiF thin films show improved transmittance with respect to increase in annealing temperature, the refractive index increases whereas optical band decreases with increase in annealing temperature.

An analytical approximation of proton Bragg curves in lithium fluoride for beam energy distribution analysis

An analytical model that approximates Bragg curves due to protons in water is extended to lithium fluoride (LiF), both in bulk and lower-density homogeneous thin film form. To that purpose, Monte Carlo simulations of proton range for energies from 5 to 65 MeV are best fitted so that optimal values of the model parameters are deduced for LiF. Tests are performed by comparing analytically computed Bragg curves with corresponding ones simulated by Monte Carlo software in LiF, bulk and lower density, at two example proton energies and energy-straggling widths. The model is then applied to the reconstruction of the energy spectra of proton beams by best fitting experimental Bragg profiles due to visible photoluminescence of optically-active F2 and F3+ color centers created in LiF crystals by the ionizing interaction of protons with the material.

Optical investigation of radiation-induced color centers in lithium fluoride thin films for low-energy proton-beam detectors

In the last few years, the peculiar photoluminescence properties of radiation-induced color centers in lithium fluoride (LiF) films have been successfully used for advanced diagnostics of low-energy proton beams produced by the TOP-IMPLART linear accelerator for protontheraphy under development at ENEA C.R. Frascati. The two-dimensional spatial dose map of the transversal section of proton beams was fully reconstructed in a wide interval of doses.In this work the optical emission properties of LiF thin films, grown by thermal evaporation on glass and Si(100) substrates and subsequently irradiated by proton beams of nominal energy 3 MeV at doses higher than 105 Gy, were carefully investigated. Their structural and morphological analyses were performed by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. A careful comparison of the photoluminescence and photoluminescence-excitation spectra of F2 and F3+ electronic defects was performed.Substrate-enhanced photoluminescence intensity increase up to 100% was observed in colored LiF films grown on Si substrates with respect to glass ones. This behavior can be substantially ascribed to the reflective properties of the Si substrate at the emission wavelengths of F2 and F3+ CCs, although other complex effects due to the polycrystalline nature of the films cannot be excluded.

Visible photoluminescence of aggregate colour centres in lithium fluoride thin films for low-energy proton beam radiation detectors at high doses

Colour centres (CCs) in lithium fluoride (LiF) are well known for application in tuneable lasers and dosimeters. The visible photoluminescence (PL) of radiation-induced, broad-band light-emitting aggregate CCs in LiF crystals and films has been proposed for high spatial resolution X-ray imaging; use of LiF-based detectors has been recently successfully extended to advanced diagnostics of low-energy proton beams. After exposure, transversal dose mapping was obtained on LiF films by acquiring the visible PL image of the irradiated spots in a fluorescence microscope under blue-light pumping.Irradiation of thermally evaporated LiF thin films with a proton beam of 3 MeV nominal energy, produced by a linear accelerator, in the fluence range of 1011–1015 protons/cm2, induces the formation of stable CCs, mainly the primary F centre and the aggregate F2 and F3+ defects. A comparison with irradiations performed at 7 MeV shows that the spectrally integrated PL as a function of the absorbed dose is independent on the selected beam energy, at least as far as typical LiF film thicknesses are concerned. The PL behaviour vs. dose can be described by a linear growth which covers up to three order of magnitude, followed by saturation at high values (> ≈105 Gy). The spectral contributions of F2 and F3+ CCs to the detected PL, in the red and in the green respectively, under laser pumping were carefully analysed in order to investigate behaviour differences of these defects at high doses.

Proton beam dose-mapping via color centers in LiF thin-film detectors by fluorescence microscopy

With the purpose of studying the behavior of novel solid-state lithium fluoride (LiF) films detectors based on the photoluminescence (PL) of radiation-induced defects for proton beam diagnostics and dosimetry, polycrystalline LiF thin films thermally evaporated on glass were irradiated at room temperature in a linear proton accelerator under development at ENEA. The irradiations were performed in air by proton beams of 3 and 7 MeV energy, in a fluence range from 1011 to 1015 protons/cm2. In the LiF films, proton irradiation induces the formation of F2 and aggregate color centers, which simultaneously emit broad PL bands in the visible spectral range under excitation in the blue one. The integrated PL signal, acquired by a fluorescence microscope equipped with a s-CMOS camera, shows a linear dependence on the dose deposited in LiF films, extending from 103 to 106 Gy, independently of the proton energy. A simple theoretical model is put forward for the formation of color centers in LiF and is utilized to obtain a proton beam dose-map by processing the PL image stored in the LiF film detectors.

Lithium fluoride thin film detectors for low-energy proton beam diagnostics by photoluminescence of colour centres

Optically transparent LiF thin films thermally evaporated on glass and Si(100) substrates were used for advanced diagnostics of proton beams of energies from 1.4 to 7 MeV produced by a linear accelerator for protontheraphy under development at ENEA C.R. Frascati. The proton irradiation induces the formation of stable colour centres, among them the aggregate F2 and F3+ optically active defects. After exposure of LiF films grown on glass perpendicularly to the proton beams, their accumulated transversal spatial distributions were carefully measured by reading the latent two-dimensional (2-D) fluorescence images stored in the LiF thin layers by local formation of these broad-band visible light-emitting defects with an optical microscope under blue lamp excitation. Taking advantage from the low thickness of LiF thin films and from the linear behaviour of the integrated F2 and F3+ photoluminescence intensities up to the irradiation fluence of ∼5x1015 p/cm2, placing a cleaved LiF film grown on Si substrate with the cutted edge perpendicular to the proton beam, the 2-D fluorescence image of the film surface could allow to obtain the depth profile of the energy released by protons, which mainly lose their energy at the end of the path.

Transformation of the microstructure and luminescence characteristics of LiF films during annealing

The microstructure of lithium fluoride thin films deposited on a glass substrate by thermal vacuum evaporation was investigated. An additional annealing of the films in air at temperatures of 400, 500, and 600°C resulted in an increase in the size of grains forming the film, as well as in the transformation of luminescence spectra of the initial and annealed samples before and after their X-ray irradiation used to generate in the films color centers that played the role of luminescent probes. It was found that an increase in the annealing temperature with an increase in the size of grains leads to a decrease in the intensity of the characteristic photoluminescence bands of color centers in lithium fluoride and to the appearance of new luminescence bands that are not characteristic of this material. Based on the results of the X-ray powder diffraction analysis, it was concluded that the increase in the grain size is caused by the change in the chemical composition of the films primarily due to the interaction of lithium fluoride with the substrate material.