The effect of x-ray, γ-ray, and UV radiations on the optical properties of RbCdF3:Mn2+

We report the results of optical transmission, photoluminescence ( PL ), and radio-luminescence measurements on x ray, gamma ray, and UV irradiated RbCdF3: Mn2+ single crystals with different Mn2+ concentrations. There is a radiation-induced increase in the optical absorption and PL intensity that correlates with the Mn2+ concentration. This suggests that the defect center that gives rise to the observed effect is associated with the Mn2+ ions. We propose that the defect center is an F-center where an electron is trapped at a fluorine vacancy situated near but not adjacent to the Mn2+ site. The PL intensity for UV ( 240 - 270 nm ), x-ray ( < 40 keV ), or gamma ray ( 60 keV ) irradiation saturates at high irradiation intensities, which can be attributed to a fixed concentration of defect sites determined by the Mn2+ concentration. We show that the radiation-induced PL intensity is correlated with the UV, x-ray, and Am-241 gamma ray dose. This indicates that RbCdF3: Mn2+ has potential as a radiation dosimeter material. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.