Praseodymium valence determination in Lu2SiO5, Y2SiO5, and Lu3Al5O12 scintillators by x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Until now, determination of both Pr3+ and Pr4+ at the low concentration levels commonly used in single crystal scintillators has proven to be difficult. We have found that it is possible to use synchrotron radiation and superconducting tunnel junction detectors to measure the X-ray absorption on the M4 and M5 edges of Pr to directly determine Pr3+ and Pr4+ in Lu2SiO5, Y2SiO5, and Lu3Al5O12. The spectra were measured at room temperature and compared to model samples of trivalent and tetravalent praseodymium, which provided clear signatures of the two charge states. The results show predominant Pr(III) in most samples.