Photostimulated luminescence from BaCl2:Eu2+ nanocrystals in lithium borate glasses following neutron irradiation

A glass-ceramic thermal neutron imaging plate material is reported. The material consists of a neutron sensitive 2B(2)O(3)-Li2O glass matrix containing nanocrystallites of the storage phosphor BaCl2:Eu2+. When doped with 0.5 mol % Eu2+, the neutron induced photostimulated luminescence (PSL) conversion efficiency of the B-10 enriched glass-ceramic is around 60% of that a commercial neutron imaging plate, while the gamma sensitivity is an order of magnitude lower than that of the commercial plate. A Eu2+-concentration series shows that the PSL efficiency for x rays is optimized at 0.01 mol % Eu2+. Thermoluminescence measurements indicate trap depths in BaCl2:Eu2+ ranging from 0.55 to 2.7 eV. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.