Scintillation properties of K2LaCl5 with Ce doping

In this work we present the scintillation properties of K₂LaCl₅ doped with Ce³⁺ concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1 and 10%. Under X-ray excitation the crystals show the efficient Ce³⁺ (5d–4f) luminescence between 340 and 400 nm. Depending on the Ce concentration, the light yields vary between 24,000 and 50,000 photons/MeV (ph/MeV). Experiments with 662 KeV gamma ray excitation show light yields varying between 13,000 and 30,000 ph/MeV. For Ce luminescence a single exponential decay time of approximately 40 ns is expected. However, for K₂LaCl₅:10%Ce, the decay is not single exponential. As a function of the time t, it can be described by a 1/t^1.63 behaviour for large t. With a crystal of K₂LaCl₅:10%Ce we obtained an energy resolution of 5.1% for 662 KeV gamma ray excitation of ¹³⁷Cs.