Thermoluminescence and photoluminescence studies on γ ‐ray‐irradiated Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ ‐doped potassium chloride single crystals

Single crystals of KCl doped with Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ were grown using the Bridgeman–Stockbarger technique. Thermoluminescence (TL), optical absorption, photoluminescence (PL), photo‐stimulated luminescence (PSL), and thermal‐stimulated luminescence (TSL) properties were studied after γ ‐ray irradiation at room temperature. The glow curve of the γ ‐ray‐irradiated crystal exhibits three peaks at 420, 470 and 525 K. F‐Light bleaching (560 nm) leads to a drastic change in the TL glow curve. The optical absorption measurements indicate that F‐ and V‐centres are formed in the crystal during γ ‐ray irradiation. It was attempted to incorporate a broad band of cerium activator into the narrow band of terbium in the KCl host without a reduction in the emission intensity. Cerium co‐doped KCl:Tb crystals showed broad band emission due to the d–f transition of cerium and a reduction in the intensity of the emission peak due to 5 D 3 – 7 F j ( j = 3, 4) transition of terbium, when excited at 330 nm. These results support that energy transfer occurs from cerium to terbium in the KCl host. Co‐doping Ce 3+ ions greatly intensified the excitation peak at 339 nm for the emission at 400 nm of Tb 3+ . The emission due to Tb 3+ ions was confirmed by PSL and TSL spectra. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.