Preparation and scintillation properties of the Eu3+-activated SrO–Al2O3–TeO2 glasses

Abstract Eu3+-activated tellurite glasses with a composition of xEu2O3–(10-x)SrO–5Al2O3–85TeO2 (x = 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0) were prepared with an aim to detect high energy radiation, and their photoluminescence (PL) and scintillation characteristics were investigated for scintillator applications. Some luminescence peaks attributable to the 4f-4f transitions of Eu3+ appeared at approximately 578, 592, 613, 652 and 700 nm under visible light (530 nm). The PL decay times under the visible light (530 nm) were about 0.89–0.93 ms, and they were found to be typical times for the 4f-4f transition of Eu3+. As scintillation properties, sharp scintillation peaks appeared at approximately 578, 591, 612 and 652 nm, and their scintillation decay times originating from the 4f-4f transition of Eu3+ were detected across the time range from 0.060 to 0.362 ms. Moreover, their afterglow levels were 43–387 ppm, and the level was found to decrease with the increase in the concentrations of Eu2O3.