Synthesis, luminescence and scintillation of rare earth doped lanthanum fluoride nanoparticles

Scintillation from nanoparticles is a nascent field but offers valuable fundamental insights and practical utilities. In this work, the scintillation response of LaF 3:Eu nanoparticles is reported. Core/multi-shell nanoparticles were prepared using a modified solution precipitation method that takes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Optical materials Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 136 - 140
Main Authors:	Jacobsohn, L.G., Sprinkle, K.B., Kucera, C.J., James, T.L., Roberts, S.A., Qian, H., Yukihara, E.G., DeVol, T.A., Ballato, J.
Format:	Journal Article Conference Proceeding
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Elsevier B.V 01-12-2010 Elsevier
Subjects:	Agglomeration Carriers Core/shell Devices Exact sciences and technology Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications) LaF 3 Lanthanum fluorides Luminescence Nanoparticle Nanoparticles Optical materials Optics Physics Radioluminescence Rare earth Rare earth metals Scintillation Scintillator Shells LaF 3 Core/shell Scintillator Rare earth Nanoparticle Radioluminescence Scintillations Lanthanum fluoride Luminescence Photoluminescence Radiative recombination Organic ligand Doped materials XRD Nanoparticles LaF Transmission electron microscopy Rare earths Rare earth additions Optical materials
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Summary:	Scintillation from nanoparticles is a nascent field but offers valuable fundamental insights and practical utilities. In this work, the scintillation response of LaF 3:Eu nanoparticles is reported. Core/multi-shell nanoparticles were prepared using a modified solution precipitation method that takes advantage of the organic ligand ammonium di- n-octadecyldithiophosphate (ADDP) to simultaneously achieve shelling of doped core nanoparticles while avoiding agglomeration. Nanoparticles were characterized on their structure, morphology, luminescence, and scintillation behavior by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and radioluminescence (RL) measurements, respectively. Analysis of the scintillation process revealed that the unique aspect of scintillation in nanoparticles when compared to bulk materials is related to the migration of carriers within the nanoparticle. Cladding of the Eu-doped core with an undoped shell was found to increase scintillation intensity by a factor of 3, and further shelling leads to a continuous decrease in RL intensity. Surface passivation, together with the decreasing probability of radiative recombination of carriers at the luminescent centers in the core with increasing number of shells grown around the core are suggested to describe the observed RL intensity behavior. Scintillation enhancement by means of shelling is a promising pathway to enhance the use of scintillator nanoparticles in detection devices.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23
ISSN:	0925-3467 1873-1252
DOI:	10.1016/j.optmat.2010.07.025