Applications that utilize scintillation detectors at low temperatures are growing in number. Many of these require materials with high light yield and a fast response. Here we report on the low-temperature characterisation of ZnSe doped with Al or Te, respectively. The X-ray luminescence and decay curves were measured over the 77–295 K temperature range, and alpha particle excitation was used to examine scintillation light output and decay kinetics over the range 9–295 K. A significant improvement of the scintillation characteristics was observed at cooling below 100 K. The scintillation light yield of the crystals increases by a factor about two, and the decay time constant decreases by almost an order of magnitude to 0.3–0.4 μs. These improvements enhance the potential of ZnSe-based crystals for application in cryogenic scintillation detectors of ionising radiation.

在低温下使用闪烁探测器的应用越来越多。其中许多需要具有高光输出和快速响应的材料。在这里，我们分别报告了掺杂有 Al 或 Te 的 ZnSe 的低温特性。X 射线发光和衰减曲线在 77-295 K 温度范围内测量，α 粒子激发用于检查 9-295 K 范围内的闪烁光输出和衰减动力学。观察到闪烁特性的显着改善在冷却至 100 K 以下时。晶体的闪烁光产额增加了大约两倍，衰减时间常数减少了几乎一个数量级，达到 0.3-0.4 μs。