Luminescence and scintillation properties of Ce³⁺-doped P₂O₅-Li₂CO₃-GdBr₃-Al₂O₃ glasses

A series of glass samples were fabricated with the composition of (65-x)P₂O₅:20Li₂CO₃:10GdBr₃:5Al₂O₃:xCeBr₃ (where, x = 0.5,1,2,3,4). The powder X-ray diffraction measurements were performed to verify the amorphous structure of the prepared glass samples. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed an interesting phenomenon of oxygen bridging eliminating Br (Bromine) from the initial compounds. The luminescence characteristics of the samples were studied using X-rays and UV–Vis excitations. Characteristics Ce³⁺ emission was observed at 350 nm including energy transfer from 4f energy state of Gd³⁺ to 5d energy band of Ce³⁺. The fast decay component was observed as 37 ns, 42 ns, and 44 ns for the UV, α-particles, and γ-ray excitations, respectively. The intermediate and slow components were observed for α-particles, and γ-rays excitations indicating Gd³⁺ to Ce³⁺ energy transfer and 4f-4f transitions of Gd³⁺ -ions accordingly. The scintillation property was studied with α-particles using a ²⁴¹Am source.