Discipline: Physics
Subcategory: Physics (not Nanoscience)
Bria Andrews - Hampton University
Co-Author(s): Ei Brown, Uwe Hömmerich, Suehir. B. Trivedi, Hampton University, Hampton, VA
The luminescent properties of rare-earth doped solids have been under intense exploration for a wide range of applications ranging from displays and lasers to scintillators. Binary lead halides (PbCl2, PbBr2) and ternary lead halides (KPb2Cl5 and KPb2Br5) are regarded as wide-gap semiconductors with band gap energies ranging from ~2.5 eV to 4.8 eV. They are also considered non-hygroscopic crystals with narrow phonon spectra of <140 cm-1 to ~203 cm-1. In this work, initial results of the purification, synthesis, and crystal growth of Eu2+ activated lead chloride (PbCl2), lead bromide (PbBr2), potassium lead chloride (KPb2Cl5), and potassium lead bromide (KPb2Br5) are presented. The visible luminescence properties of investigated materials were evaluated for possible applications in radiation detectors. Under Xenon flash lamp excitation, preliminary spectroscopic results showed allowed 5d-4f Eu2+ emission centered ~412nm in Eu2+ doped KPb2Cl5. Moreover, crystal growth experiments of Eu doped SrI2 will be performed for comparative spectroscopic and scintillation studies. 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): The work at Hampton University was supported by the National Science Foundation (HBCU-UP) through grants HRD-1401077.
Faculty Advisor: Ei Brown,