Luminescence and scintillation properties of strontium hafnate and strontium zirconate single crystals

Abstract The transparent single crystals of high-melting strontium hafnate (SHO) and strontium zirconate (SZO) have been grown by the floating zone method with vertical mirror arrangement. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed orthorhombic perovskite structures for both compounds. Evaporation of Sr-containing species during the growth was proved by micro x-ray fluorescence analysis and led to slightly Sr-poor composition in the studied materials. The overall scintillation efficiency of SHO was found to be comparable with that of Bi4Ge3O12 standard scintillator, while that of SZO was considerably lower. The emission spectrum of both compounds was red-shifted when compared to the previously intensively studied powder counterparts and the photoluminescence decay curves became accelerated with pronounced nonexponentiality. The phenomenological model applied to the temperature dependences of the luminescence data revealed that in single crystals the leading luminescence process is either strongly modified with respect to powders or is of a different origin. The scintillation light yield of both materials was determined to be only several tens of photons per MeV under alpha-ray excitation due to strong afterglow, most probably related to ionization of excited state of the luminescence center.