Investigation of radiation-induced luminescence properties of high-density barium phosphate glasses doped with Ce3+

Abstract

The Ce³⁺ doped barium-zinc-gadolinium-phosphate glass samples with composition 20BaCO₃-10ZnO-8Gd₂O₃-(62- $x$)P₂O₅-$x$ CeBr₃ (where $x=0.15,0.25,0.5$, and 0.75 mol.%) were fabricated by employing melt-quenching traditional method. The PXRD studies were performed to verify the amorphous form of the fabricated glasses. FE-SEM was utilised to check the particle size and shape of prepared samples. The measurements of EDS were employed to find out the elements available in the glasses. Wideband emission was observed in the 300–400 nm range in the obtained spectra under X-ray and UV–VIS excitations, revealing a 5d-4f transition of Ce³⁺-ions. The detected excitation bands found broad for prepared glasses include 4f electronic energy level transitions belonging to Gd³⁺ and the 5d electronic energy levels belonging to the Ce³⁺ excitation energy band situated at 308 nm. The scintillation property was investigated with α-particles and $\gamma$-rays excitations using ²⁴¹Am and ¹³⁷Cs, ²²Na radiation sources, respectively. The lifetime of the prepared glass samples was studied under 286 nm UV excitation and found 28.94 ± 0.12 ns as a short component and 166.47 ± 23.44 ns long component with 85 % and 15 % contributions, respectively for PBZG-0.25Ce glass sample.