Scintillating glasses with the composition 15SiO(2)-30B(2)O(3)-25Al(2)O(3)-30Gd(2)O(3) (mol%) doped with 0.5, 1, and 1.5 wt% Pr6O11 were synthesized by the melt-quenching technique to investigate their luminescence, scintillation, imaging, and low-energy photon attenuation properties. The optical behavior was studied using photoluminescence (PL), photoluminescence excitation (PLE), radioluminescence (RL), and scintillation decay measurements. Under 445 nm excitation, the glasses exhibited characteristic Pr3+ emission centered at similar to 603-615 nm corresponding to the D-1(2) -> H-3(j) transition, while X-ray excitation produced broad visible RL associated with recombination processes within the glass matrix. The 0.5 wt% Pr6O11-doped glass showed the highest luminescence and RL intensity due to reduced concentration quenching and minimized non-radiative relaxation. Scintillation decay analysis revealed non-single-exponential relaxation behavior attributed to defect-assisted recombination and carrier trapping within the amorphous structure. X-ray imaging and modulation transfer function (MTF) measurements demonstrated a spatial resolution of 9.5 LP/mm for all glass samples. Photon attenuation properties were evaluated using WinXCom and a Python-based G-Shield Analyzer, showing excellent agreement in mass attenuation coefficient and effective atomic number (Z(eff)) calculations. High Z(eff) values in the low-energy region were mainly governed by the high Gd2O3 content, confirming strong low-energy X-ray attenuation capability. The results demonstrated that Pr6O11-doped 15SiO(2)-30B(2)O(3)-25Al(2)O(3)-30Gd(2)O(3) glasses are promising candidates for low-energy X-ray scintillation and imaging applications.

Tb3+-doped gadolinium borosilicate glass scintillators with varying Gd2O3 concentrations were prepared by the conventional melt-quenching technique. The influence of Gd2O3 concentration on the density, effective atomic number, X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) intensity, and Gd3+ -> Tb3+ energy transfer efficiency of the glass scintillators was systematically investigated. As the Gd2O3 concentration increased from 0 mol% to 30 mol%, the transmittance of the glass scintillators remained at approximately 85 %, the density increased from 5.29 g/cm(3) to 6.01 g/cm(3), the effective atomic number (Z(eff)) increased from 46.1 to 56.2, and the photoluminescence quantum yield increased from 71.4 % to 81.9 %. Furthermore, the energy transfer efficiency between Gd3+ and Tb3+ increased from 74.6 % to 91.8 %. Compared with the previous sample, the integrated XEL intensity increased by 69 %. The integrated XEL intensity of the optimal glass reached approximately 223 % of Bi4Ge3O12, and a spatial resolution of 20 lp/mm was achieved. Additionally, the integral intensity of photoluminescence at 500 K is 92 % of its initial value. Therefore, the Tb3+-doped gadolinium borosilicate glass scintillator holds immense potential for high-resolution X-ray imaging.

ABSTRACT High‐density Ce 3+ ‐doped lithium‐rich gadolinium borosilicate oxyfluoride glasses (Gd 2 O 3 –GdF 3 –Al 2 O 3 –B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –LiF– x CeF 3 , x = 0–5 mol%, abbreviation GBSFAL x ) were prepared by melt quenching in a reducing atmosphere for γ‐ray detection. All samples show greater than 80% transmittance in the visible range (400–700 nm). With increasing CeF 3 content, the absorption edge red‐shifts (328→341 nm) and the Ce 3+ emission peak shifts to longer wavelengths. The maximum photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of these glasses is 71.95%, and the photoluminescence (PL) decay time is in the range of 40–43 ns. For scintillation, the integral X‐ray‐excited luminescence (XEL) intensity of GBSFAL 3 glass is 62.85% of that of the Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 (BGO) crystal. Under irradiation from a 137 Cs γ‐ray source, the light yield (LY) reached up to 1491 ph/MeV with an energy resolution of 26.9%. All glasses exhibit a double exponential scintillation decay time, which consists of fast (69.5–114.3 ns) and slow (311.6–1018.2 ns) components, respectively. The glasses with various concentrations of Ce 3+ were investigated through thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL). The concentration of CeF 3 modifies the trap state distribution, with shallow and intermediate traps becoming more abundant relative to deep traps as Ce 3+ concentration increases, thereby improving the light yield. Therefore, GBSFAL x glass scintillators represent a potential solution for a future alternative to conventional low‐density glass scintillators for γ‐ray detection applications.

CeF3-doped oxyfluoride scintillating glasses with the composition 50SiO(2) - 20Al(2)O(3) - 10BaF(2) - 10Gd(2)O(3) - 10Li(2)O (SABGL) were synthesized via the melt-quenching method under a carbon-reducing environment to stabilize Ce3+. The optical absorption spectra confirmed the characteristic 4f -> 5d transitions of Ce3+ and a slight red shift associated with structural modifications at higher CeF3 contents. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements revealed strong blue emission centered at similar to 438 nm, increasing monotonically with CeF3 concentration up to 1.5 wt%. Excitation spectra showed distinct bands from both Ce3+ and Gd3+, confirming efficient Gd3+ -> Ce3+ energy transfer. Time-resolved PL decay exhibited tri-exponential behavior, indicating multiple Ce3+ environments typical of an amorphous glass host, with the fastest component reflecting efficient radiative relaxation. Under X-ray excitation, all samples produced clear blue radioluminescence, and X-ray imaging of an IC chip demonstrated spatial resolutions of 11.0-11.8 LP/mm, comparable to commercial BGO. Radiation-shielding parameters calculated using WinXCom showed high mass attenuation coefficients and elevated effective atomic numbers (Z(eff) approximate to 32-36 at low energies), attributed to the incorporation of Ba, Gd, and Ce. Compared with a Cs2O-Fe2O3-P2O5 reference glass, the SABGL system exhibited superior attenuation below similar to 0.07 MeV, confirming its suitability for low-energy photon detection and shielding. Overall, the combined scintillation performance, high spatial resolution, and favorable photon-interaction properties demonstrate that CeF3-doped SABGL glasses, particularly the 1.5 wt% composition is promising, scalable candidates for low-energy X-ray imaging and radiation-shielding applications.

A series of Ce3+-doped Gd2O3-GdF3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glass scintillators (GSCx and GLCx) were successfully synthesized in reducing atmosphere for future imaging application. The transmittance of GSCx glasses exceeds 85 % in range of 500-800 nm, and the cut-off edge red shifts as the Ce3+ concentration increases. In photoluminescence (PL), GSCx glass scintillators have a 360-600 nm broadband emission with a shoulder peak at around 450 nm. Meanwhile, the PL lifetime of GSCx glasses is close to the CeF3 crystals, and the PL QY of GSC3 glass scintillator reaches up 70.2 %. For scintillation application, the integral XEL intensity of GSC2 and GSC3 glasses is 31.3 % and 24.4 % of that of BGO crystal. GLC2 and GLC3 glasses exhibit similar spatial resolution of approximately 7 lp & sdot;mm- 1. Moreover, the light yields of GSC2 and GSC3 glass scintillator are 1702 and 1690 ph/ MeV excited by gamma-ray, respectively. The nonproportionality of GSCx glasses is less than 3 % in the range of 100-1400 keV due to the large density and Zeff. As Ce3+ concentration increases, both the fast and slow components of the glasses decrease (103.7 ns-89.7 ns, 1454.4 ns-1012.8 ns), and the proportion of fast component also increased from 3.3 % to 4.7 %. For gamma-ray imaging, the scintillation light events of the glass can be observed from SiPM array, and the central position (-2, -1) have the highest count rate of the system. The results show that GSCx and GLCx glass scintillators deserve further development for future applications.

A series of Eu2+/Eu3+ doped 20La2O3-20Al2O3-60SiO2 glasses (LAS:Eu) were fabricated via melting quenching method in air atmosphere. By introducing the reducing agent Si3N4, the ratio of Eu2+/Eu3+ in glasses can be controlled under atmospheric conditions at 1520 degrees C for 5 h. As the tunable Eu2+/Eu3+ component in LAS:Eu glasses, the wavelength conversion of photoluminescence is achieved upon the 395 nm excitation, where LAS:0.7Eu exhibits a color coordinate of (0.334, 0.314). According to calculation, the energy transfer mechanism between Eu2+ and Eu3+ in glasses is dipole-dipole interactions dominate. Meanwhile, relative X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) intensity of the single Eu2+ doped glass can reach 38.6% of that of Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal. The temperature-dependent emission spectra of the LAS:Eu glasses were tested under photoluminescence and X-ray excitation, and the thermal activation energy was calculated. These results demonstrate the potential of LAS:Eu glass for applications as lightemitting diode (LED) materials and scintillators in nuclear radiation detection. (c) 2024 Chinese Society of Rare Earths. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

High density Gd2O3-GdF3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2-CeF3 (GFOx) glass scintillators with different dimensions were synthesized. The glasses have a -75 % transmittance in visible range with a cut off wavelength of 373 nm. With the dimension increases, the energy transfer efficiency of GFOx glasses decreases from 77.0 % to 28.3 %. And the photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of all glasses exceeds 56 % with a maximum of 68.4 %. GFOx glass scintillators exhibit a X-ray excitation luminescence (XEL) spectrum in 300-600 nm, and the XEL intensity decreases with increasing dimension. Under y -ray excitation, a scattering model was established based on the light yield and aspect ratio of the glasses. The accuracy of the model was verified by measurement of commercial BGO crystal. In GFOx glass scintillator system, the intrinsic light yield of at 10 mm thickness is 1318 ph/MeV, while light loss coefficient is -0.12. With the aspect ratio increases, the formation and transport efficiency of excitons improve due to a larger surface area and more interfaces, resulting in a faster rise time. Meanwhile, all glasses exhibit a double exponential decay, including a fast component (-100 ns) and a slow component (-520 ns), and shows same trend as the rise time. In addition, the photon collection efficiency of SiPM coupled with the glasses decreased from 96.2 % to 31.8 %. Because the scattered photons can hardly reach the SiPM due to poor actual light attenuation length.

A strong near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent borate glass doped with tellurium (Te) clusters was developed, and spectral properties were studied. Under an oxidizing atmosphere, Te clusters could not be formed; however, under a reducing atmosphere, broadband Te-cluster NIR emission covering 600-1400 nm was successfully achieved, with a peak centered at 900 nm and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 270 nm. The findings demonstrated that adjusting the glass composition and TeO2 doping concentration can significantly enhance the NIR emission of Te-doped borate glass. Furthermore, the study revealed that the photoluminescence performance of this material is highly sensitive to both temperature and excitation wavelength, demonstrating its potential for tunable luminescent properties. A NIR glass-converted LED (gc-LED) device was fabricated by integrating Tecluster-doped borate glass with a commercial 460 nm LED, demonstrating its potential applications in night vision, non-destructive testing, and biomedical imaging. This research provides a theoretical foundation and technical pathway for developing novel ultra-broadband NIR emission glass materials.

High gadolinium oxyfluoride glass is a high-performance scintillation material with promising applications in the circular electron positron collider (CEPC) facility. In this study, Ce3+-doped high-gadolinium oxyfluoride glass was synthesized using a high-temperature melting method. The glass samples all exhibit good transparency, with a maximum density of 6.15 g/cm3. This study primarily investigated the effects of partially substituting Gd2O3 with BaO on the scintillation and physical properties of the glass. The results show that both the X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) and photoluminescence (PL) of Ce3+ are significantly enhanced with increasing BaO content. At 24 mol% BaO, the glass exhibits the optimal luminescent performance, with XEL and PL intensities reaching 1.76 and 1.58 times those of the BaO-free sample, respectively. Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals two different energy transfer pathways from Gd3+ to Ce3+. Furthermore, analyses using radiation-induced absorption (RIA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy demonstrate that BaO incorporation promotes the conversion of non-bridging oxygen to bridging oxygen in the glass network, thereby enhancing the glass's resistance to radiation-induced damage. These findings suggest that high-density, Ce3+-doped oxyfluoride glasses possess excellent luminescent properties and robust radiation tolerance, highlighting their potential for high-energy radiation detection applications.

A novel strategy for effectively enhancing the near-infrared (NIR) broadband luminescence of Fe3+ by modifying the symmetry of the Fe3+ coordination field is developed and evaluated. The borate glass doped with F (fluorine) or S (sulfur) prepared in a reducing atmosphere exhibits broadband NIR luminescence in the 500-1150 nm wavelength range under approximately 360 nm near-ultraviolet (NUV) excitation. The emission peak wavelength is about 740 nm, with a full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of 225 nm and an average lifetime of several hundred microseconds. Combining photoluminescence (PL), absorption (Abs), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, we proposed that this NIR emission originates from the tetrahedral impurity Fe3+ coordinated with F- or S2- in the glass. The presence of F and S alters the symmetry of the local coordination of Fe3+ centers, resulting in increased splitting of the d-electrons, hence, enhancing the luminescence of the d -> d transition. In addition, an NIR gc-LED device is developed by coupling NIR fluorescent glass with a 365 nm commercial near-ultraviolet light-emitting diode (LED). This NIR gc-LED device can be utilized for nondestructive internal detection, nondestructive imaging of blood vessels in the human finger, and night vision. The transparent glass developed in this work is an excellent addition to the group of novel NIR materials and displays significant potential for NIR luminescence applications.

This work proposes a simple neutron energy spectroscopy based on a single long lithium- or boron-doped scintillator coupled to two photo-electronic devices (PMTs) on both ends. The principle is that the neutron's capture position [depth of interaction (DOI)] inside the scintillator is connected with the incident energy. The performance of the spectroscopy was simulated using the Geant4 package. The DOI inside the scintillator, as well as the light output ratio (LR) of the two PMTs, were acquired, then the relationship between the DOI and LR at various incident neutron energy was calculated. These calculations were further used as the neutron response function for the spectroscopy.A spectroscopy that is sensitive to neutrons within 10 eV to 10 keV was designed that could be applied for the neutron spectrum detection of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The GRAVEL algorithm and the maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm were used to unfold the neutron spectrum, the mean-square-error (MSE) for monoenergetic neutrons was about 0.05 and the MSE for the continuous BNCT spectrum was about 0.08, which showed a remarkable technical advantage and feasibility.

For nuclear radiation detection and HEP experiments, glass scintillators with high transparency and high stability have been considered as potential alternatives. Due to the amorphous metastable structure and a large number of internal defects, the performance of glass scintillators is inferior to that of crystals. There is little research on the attenuation length and light loss coeffcient of glass scintillators due to amorphous structure. Ce3+-doped gadolinium aluminoborosilicate glass scintillator (GLx glass) was synthesized using high-temperature melting method in a N2/H2 reducing atmosphere and processed to different thicknesses. Optical and scintillation properties of the glasses under different thicknesses were investigated. As the thickness of the glasses increases, their cut-off edge of transmission spectra and X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) peak gradually red shift. The difference between theoretical and actual light attenuation lengths was compared. The actual light attenuation length around its luminescence peak is 2.3 +/- 0.01 cm of GLx glass with a light yield of 1000 ph/MeV. The intrinsic light yield and light loss coefficient of the GLx glass were calculated. Its intrinsic light yield is 1583 +/- 37 ph/MeV with a light loss coefficient of 0.57 +/- 0.04 cm-1. Besides, the scintillation characteristics of the glasses exhibits fast (in range of 160-200 ns) and slow (in range of 440-480 ns) components.

High transparency Ce3+-doped dense gadolinium aluminum borosilicate (GS(x)) glass scintillator was synthesized in reducing atmosphere by melt-quenching process. The transmittance of the glasses exceeds 80%, and the light attenuation length is between 5-20 cm within the range of 400-600 nm. GS(x) glass shows an photoluminescence (PL) in range of 350-550 nm, with the strongest emission peak around 420 nm. The PL decay time of GS(x) glasses is around 37 ns, with a maximum PL quantum yield of 44.05%. The integrated X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) intensity of GS(S) glass is 52.5% compared with BGO crystal. For X-ray imaging, GS(L) glass based imaging system shows a high spatial resolution of 9 lp/mm, which is comparable to CsI:Tl X-ray detectors. Under gamma-ray, the highest light yield of GS(S) glass is 1235 ph/MeV with an energy resolution of 24.0% at 662 keV, close to that of BSO crystal. The scintillation decay time of GS(x) glasses is consisted of fast (similar to 100 ns) and slow (similar to 560 ns) components. In thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL), GS(S) glass exhibits a strong TSL peak at approximately 440 K, with low intensity shoulders at about 520 K, implying different types of defects and traps. Therefore, GS(x) glass has promising prospects for X-ray imaging and high-energy physics applications.

Tunable valence state and scintillation properties from Ce-doped gadolinium aluminoborosilicate glass scintillators for high-energy physics applications.

The Eu-doped xBaO-(100-x)B2O3 and xBaF2-(100-x)B2O3 glasses were prepared by melting method under a reducing atmosphere, exhibiting broadband luminescence peaks of 4f65 d1 -> 4f7 in the excitation range of 300-400 nm. PL, EPR, and XPS were used to analyze the effects of the Ba2+, F-, and Eu ion content on the Eu2+/ Eu3+ ratio and Eu2+ emission wavelength and intensity. An excess of Ba2+ ions with a high optical basicity reduced the Eu2+/Eu3+ ratio and enhanced the ligand field strength surrounding the Eu2+ ions, decreasing the Eu2+ luminescence intensity and red-shifting the luminescence peak. The addition of F- had the effect of diminishing the optical basicity, decreasing the OH groups content and eliminating Eu2+ clusters, which not only mitigated the effects of the Ba2+ ions, but also significantly enhanced the luminescence intensity of Eu2+ ions. An increase in the Eu ion concentration led to a red-shift in the Eu2+ fluorescence, which was attributed to the nephelauxetic effect. Therefore, the luminescence color of these glass samples could be manipulated by adjusting the doping concentrations of Ba2+, F-, and Eu2+.

The large size (4 cm x 4 cm x 1 cm) Ce3+-doped high gadolinium oxyfluoride glass with density of 5.83 g/cm3 was prepared by the melt quench method at 1220 degrees C. The glass is colorless and transparent over the visible range. The prolonged decay time under 275 nm UV light demonstrates the energy transfer from Gd3+ ions to Ce3+ ions. The X-ray excited luminescence spectra (XEL) show the emission peak corresponds to the 5d -> 4f transitions of Ce3+ ion. The integral emission intensity of glass was compared with that of bismuth germanate oxide (BGO) crystals. The scintillation property of glass was studied under the gamma-ray from 137Cs source and a clear energy peak was observed with light yield (LY) over 1100 ph/MeV. The scintillation decay time comprises fast and slow components. All results presented in this work indicate the appropriate potential to be high-energy rays detecting material for CEPC.

Rare-earth-doped silica-based composite glasses (Re-SCGs) are widely used as high-quality laser gain media in defense, aerospace, energy, power, and medical applications. The variable regional chemical environments of Re-SCGs can induce new photoluminescence properties of rare-earth ions but can cause the selective aggregation of rare-earth ions, limiting the application of Re-SCGs in the field of high-power lasers. Here, topological engineering is proposed to adjust the degree of cross-linking of phase-separation network chains in Re-SCGs. A combination of experimental and theoretical characterization techniques suggested that the selective aggregation of rare-earth ions originates from the formation of phase-separated structures in glasses. The decomposition of nanoscale phase separation structures to the sub-nanometer scale, enabled by incorporating Al3+ ions, not only maintains the high luminescence efficiency of rare earth ions but also increases light transmittance and reduces light scattering. Furthermore, our investigation encompassed the exploration of the inhibitory mechanism of Al3+ ions on phase-separation structures, as well as their influence on the spectral characteristics of Re-SCGs. This work provides a new design concept for composite glass materials doped with rare-earth ions and could broaden their application in the field of high-power lasers.

To achieve the physics goal of precisely measure the Higgs, Z, W bosons and the top quark, future electron-positron colliders require that their detector system has excellent jet energy resolution. One feasible technical option is the high granular calorimetery based on the particle flow algorithm (PFA). A new high-granularity hadronic calorimeter with glass scintillator tiles (GSHCAL) has been proposed, which focus on the significant improvement of hadronic energy resolution with a notable increase of the energy sampling fraction by using high-density glass scintillator tiles. The minimum ionizing particle (MIP) response of a glass scintillator tile is crucial to the hadronic calorimeter, so a dedicated beamtest setup was developed for testing the first batch of large-size glass scintillators. The maximum MIP response of the first batch of glass scintillator tiles can reach up to 107 p.e./MIP, which essentially meets the design requirements of the CEPC GSHCAL. An optical simulation model of a single glass scintillator tile has been established, and the simulation results are consistent with the beamtest results.