Radiation Effects on the Photoluminescence of Rare-Earth Doped Pyrochlore Powders

This work examined the sensitivity of the luminescence spectra of europium-doped lanthanum zirconate to different types and amounts of radiation exposure. For the samples and radiation sources used in this work (X-rays and protons), changes in the photoluminescence of europium-doped lanthanum zirconate were minimal. However, when the phosphor was paired with an alternate luminescent material, which had a differing radiation response, relative changes in the photoluminescence of the two materials were correlated to the radiation exposure.