Luminescence property of Eu-doped fluorochlorozirconate glass-ceramics

A series of Eu2+-doped fluorochlorozirconate glass-ceramics were prepared by solid state reaction method. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL) and the turbidity of fluorozirconate glass containing BaCl2 nano- and micro-crystals were measured for the samples annealed at 290 °C for 10 min. The PSL was attributed to the characteristic emission of Eu2+ in nano-crystallites of BaCl2, which formed in the glass upon annealing. The PSL efficiency of the glass ceramic was increased by increasing the concentration of BaCl2, which, however, resulted in the decreasing in the transparency of the sample. The sample turned to a semi-transparent glass ceramic or even an opaque and milky white one from a near-transparent glass. The trade-off between optical transparency and PSL intensity over different concentrations of BaCl2 for X-ray imaging plate applications was briefly discussed.