HIGH-EFFICIENCY LUMINESCENT GLASSES, AND SOL-GEL PROCESS FPR èRODUCING THEM

摘要

Provided herein are high-efficiency luminescent glasses, particularly for use as scintillating materials for the detection of ionizing radiation, and the corresponding production process. The glasses are obtained by means of a sol-gel reaction followed by densification and sintering and are characterized in that they are basically made up of vitreous matrices of high-purity silica or high-purity silica/germania, in which there is incorporated at least one dopant having luminescent properties, and in that they possess high characteristics of emission even with relatively low content of dopant. The glasses according to the invention are suitable in particular for producing high-performance scintillating optical fibres.