Scintillation and photoluminescence properties of Cs₂NaY_1−xPr_xCl₆ crystals

Herein, Cs₂NaY₁−_xPr_xCl₆ crystalline scintillators have newly been fabricated and characterized. The crystals exhibited emission bands at ∼300 and ∼500 nm, which originated from the 5d-4f and 4f-4f transitions of Pr³⁺ ions, respectively, and the scintillation decay time constants were 19-29 and 170-370 ns, respectively. The former was attributed to the emissions from the 5d-4f transitions of Pr³⁺ ions, whereas the latter was attributed to the host materials. The light yields of these crystals were higher than those of undoped Cs₂NaYCl₆ crystals. The Cs₂NaY_0.4Pr_0.6Cl₆ crystal exhibited the highest light yield (7100 photons MeV⁻¹), which is approximately four times higher than that of the undoped Cs₂NaYCl₆ crystal (1800 photons MeV⁻¹).