Tb3+-activated SiO2–Al2O3–CaO–CaF2 oxyfluoride scintillating glass ceramics

In this paper, transparent glass ceramics containing CaF2 nanocrystals were synthesized by heat-treating as-made Tb3+/Gd3+-codoped 45SiO2–20Al2O3–10CaO–25CaF2 oxyfluoride glass. The precipitated crystalline phase in the glass ceramics is CaF2 nanocrystals identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Both photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) results show that enhancement of Tb3+ 542 nm emission intensity by a factor of about 2–3 is achieved in glass ceramics with respect to the as-made glass. XEL intensity of the investigated glass ceramics is comparable to that of the commercial glass sciltillatior (LHK-6 type), which suggests its potential for scintillation application.