Optical characterisation under irradiation of Ce/sup 3+/(Tb/sup 3+/)-doped phosphate scintillating glasses

The radiation hardness is one of the fundamental parameters characterising a scintillator. The reason is that ionising radiation often induces the formation of colour centres in the irradiated material the possible overlap of the induced absorption spectrum with the emission spectrum of the scintillator could reduce the number of photoelectrons emitted by the scintillator, influencing negatively the energy resolution of the detector. In this work, the irradiation (/sup 60/Co) induced absorption of Ce/sup 3+/ (Tb/sup 3+/) phosphate scintillating glasses is reported in the dose range 1/spl divide/60 Gy. Results are discussed by taking into account the possible dependence of radiation hardness on the composition of glass matrix.