Photochromic tuning and scintillation properties of Tb3+/Eu3+ co-doped calcium gadolinium zinc borosilicate glass

Tb3+/Eu3+ co-doped Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2-CaO-Gd2O3-ZnO (ABS-CGZ) borosilicate glass with high transmittance (∼ 80%) and density (4.2∼4.3 g/cm3) were produced by melt-quenching method, and their luminescence and scintillation characteristics were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of prepared glass exhibited long-range disordered interior structures. As the concentration of Eu3+ ions increased, there were variations in the characteristic emission peak intensities and the decay times of Tb3+ and Eu3+ ions, suggesting energy transfer from Tb3+ to Eu3+ ions. Furthermore, the integrated scintillation efficiency of the glass (Eu3+, 0.8mol%) reached 40% of the commercial Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal, indicating that co-doped glass possessed excellent scintillation properties. Moreover, the glass exhibited typical green and red emissions at excitation wavelength of 378 and 395 nm, and the color tuning of green to red light emission was observed with variation in Eu3+ ions doping concentration. The application range of borosilicate glass is further expanded based on the findings of this study.