Scintillation mechanism of Tb3+ doped BaY2F8

In the present work, we report the optical properties of BaY2F8 doped with different concentrations of Tb3+ ions and its potential use as a scintillator in radiation detection. Two types of samples were studied: polycrystalline samples obtained via solid state reaction, and single crystals obtained via the zone melting method under a HF flow. The scintillating properties Tb3+ doped BaYF were checked by measuring the radioluminescence when excited with X-ray, showing intense emission peaks characteristics of rare-earth ion. Thermoluminescence measurements were done to study the traps competing to inhibit the scintillating process. The radiation damage was evaluated and it was shown that the formation of the absorption bands can be connected to color centers generated by radiation in the matrix. Measurements of DXAS revealed that there is no change in the absorption edge of the dopant during irradiation revealing that the color centers are not connected to changes in the valence of the dopants.