Investigation of Eu $^{2+}$ Doped Barium Silicates as Scintillators

Room-temperature scintillation properties were determined for five Eu
$^{2+}$
doped compounds in the Ba-Si-O ternary system: Ba
$_{2}$
SiO
$_{4}$
, BaSiO
$_{3}$
, Ba
$_{2}$
Si
$_{3}$
O
$_{8}$
, Ba
$_{5}$
Si
$_{8}$
O
$_{21}$
, and BaSi
$_{2}$
O
$_{5}$
. These materials were synthesized as polycrystalline powders from conventional solid-state reactions. Of the materials studied, Ba
$_{2}$
SiO
$_{4}$
: 0.2% Eu
$^{2+}$
is the most luminous scintillator having a luminosity of 2.7 times the reference material, Bi
$_{4}$
Ge
$_{3}$
O
$_{12}$
. Its scintillation decay curve is comprised of two components with lifetimes of 242 and 668 ns.