Novel radio-photoluminescence materials and applications

Radio-photoluminescence (RPL) is a phenomenon whereby a new luminescent centre is generated in a material by the interaction of an ionizing radiation with the medium. Despite the usefulness of RPL, e.g. in radiation measurements, there are only a limited number of RPL materials available today, which limits our understanding of the phenomenon as well as extending its use for new applications. In recent investigations, a large number of new RPL material systems have been proposed for radiation measurements. In particular, Sm-based RPL is one of the most intensively studied alternative systems, which shows RPL properties owing to the intravalence reduction of the Sm ion (Sm3+ -> Sm2+) induced by ionizing radiation. The generated Sm2+, as well as Sm3+, acts as a luminescent centre and shows photoluminescence, typically around 700 nm. This approach has enabled us to explore a wider range of material choices and to find a new application of RPL. An example is microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), which requires the measurement of extremely large radiation dose distributions at a microscopic scale. Such a new class of RPL is not only limited to Sm-based materials but also to those doped with other rare earth ions (e.g., Eu and Yb) and undoped materials. (C) 2021 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Radio-photoluminescence (RPL) is a phenomenon where a new luminescent center is generated in a material by the interaction of ionizing radiation. New RPL materials have been proposed for radiation measurements, with Sm-based RPL being one of the most intensively studied alternative systems, showing potential applications in areas such as microbeam radiation therapy.