Scintillation and luminescence properties of Sm3+-activated Lu2O3-CaO-SiO2-B2O3 (LuCSB) scintillating glasses

Lutetium (Lu) is a high atomic number material and readily interacts with X-rays, which makes it a good scintillation material. In this work, Lu-glass scintillators from the series xSm2O3: 25Lu2 O3: 10SiO2: 10CaO: (55-x)B2O3 (LuCSB) were synthesized at 1500 ◦ C by using a simple melt quenching technique. The influence of the Sm3+ ion on their physical, optical, photo-, X-rayand proton-induced properties has been characterized. The amorphous nature of the samples was confirmed by using X-ray diffraction. The density and the molar volume were found to be increased at higher concentrations of Sm3+. The X-ray- and the proton-induced emission spectra of the Sm3+:LuCSB glasses showed an intense reddish-orange emission around 604 nm (4G5/2 → 6H7/2), which matched the photoluminescence (PL) emission spectrum well. Among the prepared glasses, the 1.0-mol% Sm3+ ion-activated LuCSB glass exhibited the highest value of the characteristic emission parameters. The X-ray-induced luminescence of the LuCSB glass was also compared with that of a commercial bismuth germinate Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal.