Photoluminescence and scintillation properties of Yb<sup>2+</sup>-doped SrCl<sub>2−<i>x</i> </sub>Br<sub> <i>x</i> </sub> (<i>x</i> = 0, 1.6, 2.0) crystals
Kohei Mizoi, Miki Arai, Yutaka Fujimoto, Daisuke Nakauchi, Masanori Koshimizu, Takayuki Yanagida, Keisuke Asai
Abstract
Photoluminescence (PL) and scintillation properties are reported for SrCl2−xBrx:Yb2+ (x = 0, 1.6, 2.0) crystals grown by a self-seeding solidification method. Two emission peaks centered at approximately (380–390) nm and (410–420) nm were observed in PL and scintillation spectra and are attributed to spin-allowed and spin-forbidden Yb2+ 5d–4f transitions, respectively. SrCl0.4Br1.6:Yb2+ showed the highest light yield of 71 000 photons MeV−1 with a scintillation decay time constant of 490 ns. The developed SrCl0.4Br1.6:Yb2+ materials have the potential to replace conventional SrI2:Eu2+ scintillators used in pulse counting mode detectors owing to their high light yields and low deliquescence.