Eur. Phys. J. B (2013) 86: 33
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2012-30693-9

Regular Article

Excitonic processes and their contribution to nonproportionality observed in the light yield of inorganic scintillators^*

School of Engineering and IT, B-purple-12, Faculty of EHSE, Charles Darwin University, Darwin NT 0909, Australia

^a e-mail: jai.singh@cdu.edu.au

Received: 26 July 2012
Received in final form: 23 October 2012
Published online: 4 February 2013

Abstract

Using the derived expression for the light yield in a scintillator, the influence of linear radiative and non-radiative (quenching) rates on the nonproportionality in light yield is studied. It is found that if the excitation created within the electron track initiated by a γ-photon incident on a scintillator remains mainly excitonic, then nonproportionality can be minimised by inventing a scintillator material with linear radiative rate >10⁷ s^-1, linear quenching rate <10⁶ s^-1 and track radius ≥70 nm along with maintaining the rates of other nonlinear processes as discovered earlier. If one can increase the linear radiative rate to 10⁹ s^-1, then the nonproportionality can be eliminated at a track radius >20 nm.