Black Scintillators: Exploring Sm2+ as a near-infrared emitting activator for gamma-ray spectroscopy

Lengthening of the Sm²⁺ 4f⁵5d → 4f⁶ decay time through interplay with the 4f⁶[⁵D₀] level and its analogy to Eu²⁺ and Pr³⁺

Recent research activity on Sm²⁺-doped compounds has significantly increased the amount of available data on 4f⁵5d → 4f⁶ decay times. This enabled the systematic comparison of spectroscopic and time resolved luminescence data to theoretical models describing the interplay between the 4f⁵5d and 4f...

Light yield and thermal quenching of Ce³⁺ and Pr³⁺ co-doped LaBr₃:Sm²⁺ near-infrared scintillators

LaBr₃:Ce³⁺ is a compound with excellent scintillation properties, but its ultraviolet emission does not match well with the detection efficiency curves of silicon based photodetectors. In this work, Sm²⁺ is studied as an activator for LaBr₃ as its near-infrared emission can be detected with close to...

Avoiding concentration quenching and self-absorption in Cs₄EuX₆ (X = Br, I) by Sm²⁺ doping

The benefits of doping Cs₄EuBr₆ and Cs₄EuI₆ with Sm²⁺ are studied for near-infrared scintillator applications. It is shown that undoped Cs₄EuI₆ suffers from a high probability of self-absorption, which is almost completely absent in Cs₄EuI₆:2%...

Characterisation of Sm²⁺-doped CsYbBr₃, CsYbI₃ and YbCl₂ for near-infrared scintillator application

Fast energy transfer from Yb²⁺ to Sm²⁺ is a requirement when using Yb²⁺ as a sensitiser for Sm²⁺ emission for near-infrared scintillator applications. This cannot be achieved through dipole-dipole interactions due to the spin-forbidden nature of the involved Yb²⁺ transition, making the...

Design and modeling of a Laue lens for radiation therapy with hard x-ray photons

We have designed and modeled a novel optical system composed of a Laue lens coupled to an x-ray tube that produces a focused beam in an energy range near 100 keV (? = 12.4 picometer). One application of this system is radiation therapy where it could enable treatment units that are considerably simpler and lower in cost than present...

The role of Yb²⁺ as a scintillation sensitiser in the near-infrared scintillator CsBa₂I₅:Sm²⁺

The feasiblity of using Yb²⁺ as a scintillation sensitiser for CsBa₂I₅:Sm²⁺ near-infrared scintillators has been assessed. CsBa₂I₅ samples with concentrations ranging from 0.3% to 2% Yb²⁺ and 0–1% Sm²⁺ have been studied. The scintillation properties have...