Luminescence and Scintillation Properties at the Nanoscale

This contribution is a review of the luminescence and scintillation properties of nanoparticles (NP), particularly doped insulators. Luminescence spectroscopy is an appropriate tool to probe matter at the nanoscale. Luminescence is also the last stage of the scintillation process. Specific surface and structural effects occurring in NP are reported. Their consequences on the NP luminescence properties are discussed. Parts of the effects are related to the preparation method. On the other hand some intrinsic properties of the nanostructures which can modify the optical properties are described: quantum confinement and dielectric confinement. The response under high-energy excitation is also discussed. It appears that their size can be used as a tool to describe the spatial distribution of electronic excitations induced by the relaxation process after the high-energy excitation. Finally, potentiality to grow transparent bulk materials based on small Nps agglomeration via soft chemistry route is presented. It is a promising approach toward the development of scintillating materials.