Influence of Temperature (26 to 155 °C Range) on the Luminescence Efficiency of Cerium Bromide Scintillator

The temperature of the environment affects strongly the light output produced by scintillators under X-ray irradiation. Knowledge of this behavior is important in order to integrate a specific scintillator within detectors for harsh environments. The influence of temperature is also of importance when hygroscopic materials are under investigation. In this study, the influence of environmental temperature on the performance of a hygroscopic Cerium Bromide-CeBr3 scintillating crystal was examined. Luminescence efficiency results were compared with similar obtained data for a calcium-fluoride-CaF2 scintillating crystal, under X-ray flux and temperatures ranging from 26 to 155C. An X-ray source typical for medical applications (CPI-CMP 200 DR) was used. The source was set to 90 kVp. The light flux of the examined crystal was found to constantly decrease, with increasing temperature (37.94 efficiency units at a temperature of 26 °C to 9.73 efficiency units at 155 °C). The competitive CaF2:Eu crystals showed 20.71 efficiency units at a temperature of 26 °C which is clearly lower that the corresponding value of CeBr3. Knowledge of the performance of scintillating materials, such as that of CeBr3 is of importance for the development of digital detectors in various disciplines (harsh environments up to medical-imaging).