Temperature properties of luminescence from PbFCl single crystal scintillator

The temperature dependent luminescence and thermoluminescence (TL) from PbFCl single crystal scintillator as well as its annealing effect were investigated. The experimental results show that under the X-ray excitation the luminescent intensity decreases rapidly above 170 K. The temperature dependence of luminescence meets the thermal quenching principle and the luminescence intensity at room temperature is about one fortieth of 100 K. The TL curve of PbFCl consists of a dominant band peaking at 167 K with a shoulder at about 152 K and four relatively weak bands peaking at 113, 125, 198, and 233 K. The isothermal decay curve indicates that the TL band peaking at 167 K obeys the first-order kinetic process. The trap parameters are obtained using fitting method. The annealing experiment in air shows that the oxygen contamination can quench the luminescence and increase the traps responsible for the TL bands in the range of 113-152 K.