Temperature Dependence of the Luminescence Output of LaCl3:Ce Single Crystal Scintillator

Crystal scintillators are employed in a variety of applications in order to convert X-rays or gamma rays to visible radiation. The performance of a scintillator is strongly dependent on several factors such as pressure, temperature and radiation fluxes. In this study, the absolute luminescence efficiency (AE) dependence of LaCl3:Ce scintillator with temperature was investigated. A single cubic-shaped crystal with dimensions of 10 × 10 × 10 mm3 was irradiated by X-rays (90 kVp, 63 mAs). The measurements were obtained with the temperature ranging from 29 to 162 °C. As temperature increases, the luminescence efficiency, in the range 29-84 °C, decreases due to thermal quenching, with the AE values ranging from 33.14 to 17.96 E.U. (efficiency units-E.U.). From 84 to 162 °C, the luminescence efficiency is little affected by the increase of the temperature, as the AE values remain almost constant (17.96 to 17.88 E.U.). From the measured luminescence efficiency values, we may conclude that LaCl3:Ce scintillator could be considered as a suitable choice for applications at harsh environments, since the efficiency of the crystal exhibited a 47% decrease from 29 °C temperature to the maximum examined.