X-ray and gamma ray luminescence of Ce3+ doped BaF2 crystals

The scintillation properties of BaF2 doped with 0.002 to 10 mol% Ce3+ have been studied by means of X-ray and gamma ray excitation. The luminescence intensity increases with the Ce concentration until a maximum is reached for 0.2 mol% doped crystals. The light yield is then about 60% more intense than that of pure BaF2 crystals. Above 0.2 mol%, the intensity decreases with increasing Ce concentration. The decay time of the major component of the luminscence decreases from about 80 ns to 40 ns as the Ce concentration increases. The remaining part persists up to 0.2 ms. The temperature dependence of the emission intensity of some crystals will be presented.