Scintillation properties of Er³⁺-activated BaO–Nb₂O₅–TeO₂ glasses

Abstract

Recently, glasses have gained great interest for use as scintillators owing to lots of industrial benefits such as ease of producing customizable shapes and low production cost. Herein, the Er3+-activated BaO–Nb2O5–TeO2 glasses were fabricated for the development of near-infrared (NIR) glass scintillators. The Er3+-activated BaO–Nb2O5–TeO2 glasses exhibited efficient photoluminescence and scintillation that originated from the 4f→4f transition of Er3+. Their quantum yields in photoluminescence were 80% (0.1%Er2O3), 81% (0.5% Er2O3), and 61% (1.0%Er2O3). Further, an almost linear correlation between an X-ray dose rate and NIR scintillation intensity was observed in the 0.5–5000 mGy/h dose rate range. Interestingly, the lowest detectable dose rate limit (0.5 mGy/h) was lower than that of Er-doped Bi4Ge3O12 and Nd-doped GdVO4 single crystals. Further, afterglow levels of the non-doped and Er3+-activated BaO–Nb2O5–TeO2 glasses were about 600 ppm. The observed NIR scintillation properties indicated that the Er3+-activated tellurite glasses should be promising compounds for NIR-emitting scintillators.