Thermoluminescence properties of a CeBr₃ single crystal

Cerium doped scintillators are characterized by an excellent energy resolution, a very high light yield and fast timing properties. In this work, we grew a CeBr₃ (ρ = 5.18 g/cm³) single crystal by the Bridgman method using a two-zone transparent vertical furnace. The CeBr₃ is crystallized in the hexagonal structure of the UCl₃ type. We investigated the thermoluminescence (TL) of the CeBr₃ such as glow curve, dose response, fading etc. TL is a convenient technique to understand the charge trapping and detrapping mechanisms that result from the interaction of the radiation with the existing defects in material, which may interfere with the scintillator response. We determined the kinetic parameters of the TL traps of the CeBr₃ scintillator such as activation energy, frequency factor, and kinetic order by using peak shape method, variable heating rate method, and initialize method.