Synthesis, structure and luminescence properties of bifunctional KCaF3 phosphor influenced by incorporating Eu3+ ions for solid state lighting and TL dosimetry applications.

Europium doped KCaF3 phosphors (KCaF3:Eu3+) were prepared using various concentrations of Eu3+ by conventional solid-state reaction process. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed the formation of orthorhombic structured KCaF3:Eu3+ phosphors. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image of the synthesized phosphor exhibits agglomerated particles with irregular shapes. The composition of the synthesized sample was determined by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) spectrum and elemental mapping showed the homogeneous dispersion of Eu3+ ions into the synthesized KCaF3:Eu3+ phosphor. The emission peak intensity at 594 nm from photoluminescence (PL) spectra was found to increase with the increase of Eu3+ concentrations from 0.02 mol% to 0.06 mol% and decreased with the further increase of Eu3+ concentration up to 0.1 mol%. CIE1931 chromaticity diagram coordinates (x, y) of KCaF3:(0.06 mol%) Eu3+ phosphors were positioned in the reddish-orange region (x = 0.5736, y = 0.4224). Photoluminescence property confirms the suitability of KCaF3:Eu3+ phosphors for Solid state lighting application. X-ray induced luminescence (radioluminescence, RL) is recorded for KCaF3:Eu3+ phosphors showing the characteristic emission of Eu2+ and Eu3+. ESR study on KCaF3:Eu3+ phosphors confirm the presence of Eu2+ ions. Beta irradiated thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve of Eu3+ doped KCaF3 phosphors is measured and deconvoluted using Gaussian fitting. TL kinetic parameters like activation energy (Ea) and frequency factor (s) are calculated for all the deconvoluted peaks using peak shape method which shows the synthesized KCaF3:Eu3+ phosphors is suitable for dosimetry application.

A cryogenic setup for multifunctional characterization of luminescence and scintillation properties of single crystals.

This article reports on a cryogenic setup that can be used for multifunctional experimental purposes. The temperature of the setup can be set from 10 K to 300 K. Different kinds of experiments were carried out in this experimental setup such as (1) luminescence emission, light yield, and decay time measurement under excitation of 266 nm laser and 280 nm LED sources, (2) thermoluminescence (TL) measurement under an x-ray excitation source, (3) scintillation property measurements such as light output, energy resolution, and decay time under 137Cs (662 keV γ-rays) and 241Am (5.4 MeV α) isotope sources, and (4) scintillation measurement under a 90Sr beta source through the continuous single-photon counting technique. The luminescence and scintillation properties of various molybdate and tungstate crystals such as CaMoO4, Na2Mo2O7, Pb2MoO5, CdWO4, and ZnWO4 are characterized and reported in the present work. The TL measurement of a CaMoO4 crystal is carried out from 10 K to 300 K, and various kinetic parameters such as order of kinetics, frequency factor, activation energy, and figure of merit are calculated for different TL peaks. As the temperature goes down from room to 10 K, the light yield of all studied crystals increases. Since the light yield of the crystal increases as temperature decreases toward 10 K, this experimental setup can be used for the characterization of luminescence and scintillation properties of a single crystal for rare event searches such as neutrinoless double-beta decay and dark matter.