Optical Spectroscopy of Cerium doped Potassium Lead Chloride for Potential Use in Scintillators

Undergraduate #102
Discipline: Physics
Subcategory: Physics (not Nanoscience)

Amber C. Simmons - Hampton University
Co-Author(s): Ei Ei Brown and Uwe Hömmerich, Hampton University, Hampton, VA Sudhir B. Trivedi, Brimrose Corporation of America, Sparks Glencoe, MD

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Scintillator research has attracted enormous interest over the last decade for a wide range of applications such as monitoring nuclear materials, X-ray imaging screens, high-energy particle physics experiments, industrial inspections, and gas exploration. A number of rare earth activated halide scintillators have been developed and exhibit the most promising scintillation materials. Potassium lead chloride (KPb2Cl5) materials have recently emerged as new non-hygroscopic laser hosts with low maximum phonon energies (~203 cm-1), which lead to small non-radiative decay rates for trivalent rare earth dopants. In this work, the material purification, crystal growth, and spectroscopic properties of Ce3+ doped KPb2Cl5 (KPC) were investigated for possible applications radiation detectors. Under Xenon flash lamp excitation, preliminary spectroscopic results showed allowed 5d-4f Ce3+ emission centered ~385 nm in Ce3+ doped KPC. Luminescence properties of different Ce3+ concentration in KPC will also be discussed. In addition, commercial Ce: YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet, Y3Al5O12) and Ce: YAP (yttrium aluminum perovskite, YAlO3) crystals are included in this study for comparison. Detailed spectroscopic results including time-resolved excitation and emission as well as radioluminescence measurements of the investigated crystals will be presented at the conference.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through grants HRD-1401077 and HRD-1137747.

Faculty Advisor: Ei Ei Brown,