Analysis of linear energy transfer effects on the scintillation properties of Bi4Ge3O12 crystals

We analyzed the linear energy transfer (LET; energy deposited onto the target per unit length) effects on the scintillation properties of Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) with an emphasis on the dynamical aspect. We irradiated BGO with 20 MeV H±, 50 MeV He±, and 220 MeV C5+. We observed that the rise and the decay of the scintillation temporal profiles are faster at higher LET. The faster decay at higher LET is attributed to the competition between the radiative transition of self-trapped excitons (STEs) localized at Bi3+ ions and the quenching caused by the interaction between STEs. The faster rise can be explained in terms of the competition between the quenching caused by the interaction between excited states and the formation of the STEs.