RBPO/sub 5/ (R=Ca, Sr) based storage phosphors for neutron detection

Storage characteristics of RBPO/sub 5/ (R=Ca, Sr) based phosphors have been investigated for neutron detection. To increase the photostimulated luminescence (PSL) yields of CaBPO/sub 5/:Ce/sup 3+/ and SrBPO/sub 5/:Ce/sup 3+/ phosphors, fluorine atoms were introduced and the molar ratio of the fluorine atoms was optimized for the PSL yields. In addition, the authors found that the PSL yields of SrBPO/sub 5/:Eu/sup 2+/ phosphors were significantly increased by adding Li/sub 2/B/sub 4/O/sub 7/, though introducing fluorine and brome atoms in the phosphor was not effective for the PSL yields. These phosphors will be usable as new neutron storage phosphors with low gamma-ray sensitivity because they consist of light materials.