Effect of BiI₃ doping on the optical properties of CaI₂

Abstract

The effect of BiI₃ doping on the optical absorption spectra and roentgeno-, photo-, and thermoluminescence of CaI₂ scintillator crystals has been studied in the temperature range 90–295 K. The crystals were grown by the Bridgman-Stockbarger method. Doping of CaI₂ with BiI₃ from the melt gives rise to absorption bands centered at 466, 400, and 350 nm, which can be interpreted as the A, B, and C bands due to electronic transitions from the ¹ S ₀ state to the ³ P ₁, ³ P ₂, and ¹ P ₁ levels of a free Bi³⁺ ion. The absorption band at 270–290 nm is assignable to near-activator excitons. Changes in spectral composition and the reduction in luminescence intensity caused by Bi³⁺ doping of CaI₂ are associated mainly with the reabsorption of the emission from centers characteristic of the host by activator centers. Under x-ray excitation, the spectrum of heavily doped crystals shows, in addition, a weak emission centered around 620 nm, which is probably due to an impurity phase. The light sum of CaI₂:Bi³⁺ under x-ray excitation is small and is due to shallow traps. Upon Bi³⁺ substitution on the cation site of CaI₂, the excess charge of the activator is probably compensated by unintentional O²⁻ impurity and vacancy pairs near Bi³⁺ centers—one vacancy in a neighboring cation site and the other in a neighboring anion site.