Synthesis of Fine-Particle Bismuth Orthogermanate in a NaCl/KCl Melt

We have developed a process for the synthesis of fine bismuth orthogermanate, Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO), powders in a NaCl/KCl melt and examined the effect of synthesis conditions on the phase composition and morphology of the powders. Our results demonstrate that the synthesized materials compare well in scintillation performance with single-crystal BGO: their scintillation efficiency is 90% relative to single-crystal BGO, with a decay time of 300 ns.