Bismuth germanate

Bismuth germanate

Bismuth germanate (BGO, chemical formula Bismuth4Germanium3Oxygen12 (evlitine structure) or the less common type Bi12GeO20) is an inorganic chemical compound with main use as a scintillator. It forms cubic crystals.

When subjected to high energy gamma rays, bismuth germanate emits photons of wavelengths between 375-650 nm, with peak at 480 nm. It produces about 8500 photons per megaelectronvolt of the high energy radiation absorbed. It has good radiation hardness (parameters remaining stable up to 5.104 Gy), high scintillation efficiency, good energy resolution between 5-20 MeV, is mechanically strong, and is not hygroscopic. It has very high density, 7.13 g/cm³ and a high Z value. Its melting point is 1050 °C. It is the most common oxide-based scintillator.

Bismuth germanate is used in detectors in particle physics, aerospace physics, nuclear medicine, geology exploration, and other industries. Bismuth germanate arrays are used for gamma pulse spectroscopy. BGO crystals are also used in positron emission tomography detectors.

Commercially available crystals are grown by the Czochralski process and usually supplied in the form of cuboids or cylinders. Large crystals can be obtained.

Bismuth germanate has high electro-optic coefficients, making it useful in nonlinear optics for building Pockels cells, and can also be used for photorefractive devices for ultraviolet range.

External links

* [http://www.mt-berlin.com/frames_cryst/descriptions/scintillators_gen%20.htm Scintillation crystals]

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Germanate de bismuth — Germanate de bismuth …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Scintillator — Scintillation crystal surrounded by various scintillation detector assemblies …   Wikipedia

  • Germanium — (pronEng|dʒɚˈmeɪniəm) is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, silver white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. Germanium has five naturally… …   Wikipedia

  • Lunar Prospector — LunarOrbiter Name=Lunar Prospector Organization=NASA Contractors=Discovery Program MissionType=Planetary Science LaunchDate=January 7, 1998 at 02:28:44 UTC LaunchVehicle=Athena II MissionHighlight=Entered lunar orbit January 11, 1998, 10:28 UTC… …   Wikipedia

  • Scintillation counter — A scintillation counter measures ionizing radiation. The sensor, called a scintillator, consists of a transparent crystal, usually phosphor, plastic (usually containing anthracene), or organic liquid (see liquid scintillation counting) that… …   Wikipedia

  • Gamma spectroscopy — The gamma ray spectrum of natural uranium, showing about a dozen discrete lines superimposed on a smooth continuum, allows the identification the nuclides 226Ra, 214Pb, and 214Bi of the uranium decay chain. Gamma ray spectroscopy is the… …   Wikipedia

  • ASTRO-E — and ASTRO EII (or Astro E2) are Japanese X ray astronomy satellites built primarily by JAXA. In 2000 the Astro E launch failed (with the satellite falling into the ocean), so a replacement called Astro EII was launched on July 10, 2005. Astro EII …   Wikipedia

  • Barium fluoride — ] Barium fluoride is also a common, very fast (one of the fastest) scintillator for the detection of X rays, gamma rays or other high energy particles. One of its applications is the detection of 511 keV gamma photons in positron emission… …   Wikipedia

  • BGO — can refer to:* BGO Records, a record label * A bismuth germanate detector, a type of scintillator * BGO is also the IATA code for Bergen Flesland Airport in Bergen, Norway * BGO is the acronym for the Bar Game Olympics. * B G O is a sign or… …   Wikipedia

  • AFP-675 — (Air Force Program 675) was a Space Shuttle experiment package that was carried into orbit on Discovery as part of STS 39.AFP 675 consisted of six experiment packages mounted on a pallet in the Discovery s cargo bay. The total weight of the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”