Characterizations of optical properties and radiation induced luminescence of Bi-doped La2Zr2O7 transparent ceramics

Abstract

We have investigated the optical and scintillation properties of La2Zr2O7 transparent ceramics doped with 00.46% Bi. In the photoluminescence (PL), an intense broad emission was observed around 600 nm, and the primary PL decay time was 1.2μs. The origin of the emission was attributed to the Bi3+ related luminescence. The 0.10% Bi doped sample showed the highest PL quantum yield (70%) among the samples measured. In the X-ray induced scintillation spectra, a similar emission features to those observed in PL spectra were observed. The scintillation emission was not observed at low temperatures below 200K and Bi emission around room temperature was promoted by the thermal activation.