Nd/sup 3+/ and Pr/sup 3+/ doped inorganic scintillators

There is a strong interest in the development of inorganic scintillators with a fast response for applications in high-energy physics, medical diagnostics and a number of other fields. One of the main lines of research concerns luminescence from the allowed 5d-4f transitions of Ce/sup 3+/ ions in appropriately chosen host lattices. Allowed 5d-4f transitions of Nd/sup 3+/ and Pr/sup 3+/ ions could also be of interest. However, until recently the study of materials doped with these ions has somewhat been neglected. In this paper we present a model-based discussion of fast lanthanide doped scintillators after a short introduction on scintillator requirements. Furthermore, a review is given of Nd/sup 3+/ and Pr/sup 3+/ doped scintillator data, including new results on Y/sub 2/SiO/sub 5/:Pr/sup 3+/.>