Photoluminescent and Scintillating Performance of Eu³⁺-Doped Boroaluminosilicate Glass Scintillators

In comparison with single crystal scintillators, glass scintillators are more promising materials for their benefits of easy preparation, low cost, controllable size, and large-scale manufacture. The emission of Eu³⁺ ion at 612 nm matches well with the photoelectric detector, making it suitable for the activator in glass scintillators. Therefore, the research on Eu³⁺ doped glass scintillators attract our attention. The photoluminescent and scintillating properties of Eu³⁺-activated boroaluminosilicate glass scintillators prepared by the conventional melt-quenching method were investigated in this work. The glass samples present good internal quantum yield. Under X-ray radiation, the optimal sample reveals high X-ray excited luminesce (XEL), and its integrated intensity of XEL is 22.7% of that of commercial crystal scintillator Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂. Furthermore, the optimal specimen possesses a spatial resolution of 14 lp/mm in X-ray imaging. These results suggest that Eu³⁺-doped boroaluminosilicate glass is expected to be applied in X-ray imaging.