DX-like centers in NaI:Tl upon aliovalent codoping
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, Arkansas State University, State University, Arkansas 72467 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee 37208 (United States)
Aliovalent doping has been recently shown to remarkably improve energy resolution in some halide scintillators. Based on first-principles calculations we report on the formation of DX-like centers in a well-known scintillator material, Tl-doped NaI (NaI:Tl), when codoped with Ca or Ba. Our calculations indicate a net binding energy favoring formation of the defect complex (Tl{sub Na}{sup −}+Ca{sub Na}{sup +}) involving a new cation-cation bond, instead of the isolated substitutional defects. The pair has properties of a deep DX-like acceptor complex. Doping with the aliovalent anion impurity Te is also found to induce deep centers, which can act as effective electron or hole traps. The hole trapped as Te{sub I}{sup 0} involves large lattice relaxation of the Te and an adjacent iodine, consistent with extrinsic self-trapping of the hole. Thus, in contrast to the positive effect achieved by aliovalent co-doping of the rare-earth tri-halides LaBr{sub 3}:Ce and CeBr{sub 3}:Ca as reported recently, co-doping with donor-like cations Ca, Ba, or the acceptor-like anion Te in monovalent NaI:Tl is found to inhibit scintillation response.
- OSTI ID:
- 22402766
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 116, Issue 22; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANIONS
BINDING ENERGY
CATIONS
CERIUM BROMIDES
DOPED MATERIALS
ELECTRONS
ENERGY RESOLUTION
HOLES
IMPURITIES
IODINE
LANTHANUM BROMIDES
RARE EARTHS
RELAXATION
SCINTILLATIONS
SODIUM IODIDES
TRAPPING
TRAPS