X-ray and UV induced photo-luminescence from RbCdF3:Mn2+

We report the results from photo-luminescence (PL) measurements on single crystal RbCdF3 doped with up to 1% Mn2+, before and after X-ray and deep UV irradiation. The intensity of the Mn2+ PL emission at 560 nm increases with increasing X-ray or UV (<270 nm) dose. A broad PL excitation peak centered near 300 nm and extending from 280 nm to 420 nm occurs after irradiation. The PL intensity excited by this broad band is observed to increase with increasing radiation dose, and no significant decrease in the PL intensity is observed after 2 weeks. High intensity bleaching in the wavelength range from 280 nm to 420 nm reduces the PL emission to the original low pre-irradiated level. These observations suggest that RbCdF3:Mn2+ has potential as a dosimeter for X-rays and deep UV wavelengths less than 270 nm. We find that the PL intensity systematically increases with increasing Mn2+ concentration and there is no evidence of saturation for up to 1% Mn2+. This indicates that higher sensitivity could occur with even higher concentrations of Mn2+.