Scintillation Mechanism and Radiation Damage in CexLa1-xF3 Crystals

Abstract

ABSTRACTRecent spectroscopic and radiation damage experiments on a series of CexLa1-xF3 crystals suggest that the scintillation light output is limited by an unusual quenching mechanism, which also plays a major role in minimizing radiation-induced damage. The intensity of the radiation-induced absorptions is a strong function ofthe Ce content x, reaching a maximum for x = 0.03 and a minimum for x = 1. This peculiar dependence appears to be due to the influence of deep-lying Ce levels onboth scintillation mechanism and radiation damage. We suggest that various charge transfer processes can explain many aspects of the performance of CexLa1-xF3 scintillators.