Scintillation kinetics and thermoluminescence of SrI2:Eu2+ single crystals

Single crystal of strontium iodide doped with 1% europium (SrI2:1% Eu2+) was grown by Vertical Gradient Freeze technique. UV excited emission spectra were studied as a function of temperature. Results indicate the thermal quenching of Eu2+ emission starts from ∼400 K with a thermal activation energy of 0.39 eV. Gamma and UV excited decay measurements indicate that the scintillation decay time of SrI2:Eu2+ is longer than the lifetime of Eu2+ luminescence center in the SrI2 host. The thermoluminescence glow curve revealed a highly concentrated charge carrier trap at 50 K. Elimination of this trap is expected to enhance the energy migration of charge carriers and result in faster scintillation decay.