Radiation damage in undoped and barium doped cerium fluoride

Cerium fluoride (CeF3) is a relatively new scintillator material with moderate light output and rapid decay time which is currently of great interest for many applications, including nuclear medicine and high energy physics. Radiation damage has been measured in undoped and barium doped cerium fluoride using 60Co gamma rays. The effects of damage are mainly seen as the formation of absorption bands in the 300--350 nm and 500--600 nm regions. The bands produced at 300--350 nm result in a significant loss in detectable light output from all crystals. Recovery has been measured as a function of time at room temperature, along with the recovery induced by thermal and optical annealing. Measurements were made shortly after irradiation in order to study the effects of short term recovery. Thermoluminescence glow curves for both the doped and undoped material are also presented. Finally, it was found that neither material exhibits any significant phosphorescence after irradiation