Temperature dependence of fluorescence decay time and emission spectrum of bismuth germanate

Conference · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5083702

Melcher, C L; Liberman, A; Schweitzer, J S; Simonetti, J

Bismuth germanate has become an increasingly popular replacement for NaI(Tl) scintillators in recent years, mainly due to its higher detection efficiency. However, its scintillation efficiency and fluorescence decay time are strongly temperature dependent. Optimum performance of detector systems which employ BGO crystals depends on knowledge of the BGO pulse shape and intensity and its emission spectrum at the operating temperature of the detector. Measurements of these quantities are presented over the temperature range -47/sup 0/C to +111/sup 0/C. Although the emission spectrum shifts only slightly over this temperature range, the scintillation efficiency and fluorescence decay time are strongly temperature dependent. In addition to the usefulness of these data for optimizing detector design, the results imply that luminescence quenching in BGO cannot be characterized by a single thermal activation to a radiationless transition but that a more complex model is required to characterize the light output from BGO crystals.

• Research Organization: Schlumberger-Doll Research, Ridgefield, CT
• OSTI ID: 5083702
• Report Number(s): CONF-841007-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States) Journal Volume: NS-32:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

440103* -- Radiation Instrumentation-- Nuclear Spectroscopic Instrumentation
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BGO DETECTORS
BISMUTH COMPOUNDS
BISMUTH GERMANATES
DECAY
EFFICIENCY
EMISSION SPECTRA
FLUORESCENCE
GERMANATES
GERMANIUM COMPOUNDS
LUMINESCENCE
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
RADIATION DETECTORS
SCINTILLATION COUNTERS
SCINTILLATION QUENCHING
SOLID SCINTILLATION DETECTORS
SPECTRA
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE