Optical, Photo, and X‐Ray Luminescence Properties of Samarium Ions Doped with Borophosphate Glasses

The optical, photo, and X‐ray luminescence properties of Sm 3+ ion‐doped Li 2 O–Al 2 O 3 –Gd 2 O 3 –B 2 O 3 –P 2 O 5 glasses are evaluated. The glasses are fabricated by the melt quenching technique. The absorption spectra exhibit the hypersensitive transitions 6 H 5/2 → 6 P 3/2 and 6 H 5/2 → 6 F 7/2 at the visible and near‐infrared range respectively. The glasses display four major transitions characteristic of Sm 3+ ion for photoluminescence and X‐ray luminescence, with the most intense one corresponding to the 4 G 5/2 → 6 H 7/2 transition. The best emitting samarium concentration obtained by X‐ray excitation is compared to BGO crystals. The integral scintillation efficiency of glass is determined by total area under all of peak spectrum. The results indicate the promising application of these glasses in scintillators and for X‐ray sensing devices.