Peculiarities of scintillation materials based on ZnS—ZnTe solid solutions

Abstract

The optimal conditions for obtaining and features of solid solution ZnS—ZnTe were defined taking into account the thermodynamic calculation of possible chemical reactions in ZnS—ZnTe—H₂—S in a wide temperature range (600—1400 K). It is shown that control of optical, scintillation and crystallographic characteristics of such materials can be performed by co-doping of rare earth elements and adding the nonstoichiometric sulfur in the initial mixture (improvement of the kinetic parameters), as well as by heat treatment in inert atmosphere (Ar ) resulted in phase change of the crystal lattice, increasing the light output, and reducing the afterglow. The reasons of these changes are discussed.