Terbium-activated lithium-lanthanum-aluminosilicate oxyfluoride scintillating glass and glass-ceramic

Terbium-activated lithium-lanthanum-aluminosilicate oxyfluoricle scintillating glasses, 55SiO(2) 6Al(2)O(3) center dot 28Li(2)O center dot 11LaF(3) doped with different TbF3 concentrations, have been fabricated and investigated. By appropriate heat treatment of the as-prepared glasses above, transparent glass-ceramics were obtained. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, optical absorption, and luminescence under both UV and beta-particle excitation have been investigated on as-prepared glasses and glass-ceramics. It has been found that these terbium-activated lithium-lanthanum-aluminosilicate oxyfluoricle scintillating glasses exhibit good UV-excited luminescence and radioluminescence. The luminescence yield increases for glass-ceramics. The efficiency of beta-induced luminescence is comparable or nearly equal to that of the Schott IQI-301 product. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.