Scintillation properties of Ce3+ doped BaF2 crystals

The scintillation properties of cylindrically shaped, 1-in×1-in, and 30-mm×30-mm×4.5-mm BaF₂ crystals doped with 0.2-, 0.3-, 0.5-, 0.8-, and 1.0-mol.% Ce³⁺ have been studied by means of X-ray and gamma-ray excitation. Optical transmission, X-ray-induced emission, and decay time spectra are presented. The photoelectron (phe) yield/MeV was measured with an XP2020Q photomultiplier tube. The 1-in×1-in, 0.2-mol.% doped crystal has a light yield of 1790 phe/MeV, which is larger than the total light yield (1570 phe/MeV) of a pure BaF₂ crystal of the same dimensions. The crystal shows two main scintillation decay times of 47±5 ns and 260±40 ns. For the 1.0-mol.% doped crystal, a light yield of 1210±80 phe/MeV and a dominating decay time of 81±7 ns were observed. The crystals scintillate at wavelengths larger than 300 nm, and the scintillation light can be detected with glass-windowed photomultiplier tubes