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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Defect Dynamics and Isomer Quenching in 229Th:CaF2 Crystals

  • Ming Guan
  • Michael Bartokos
  • Kjeld Beeks
  • Takahiro Hiraki
  • Shinji Kitao
  • Takahiko Masuda
  • Nobumoto Nagasawa
  • Koichi Okai
  • Ryoichiro Ogake
  • Martin Pimon
  • Noboru Sasao
  • Fabian Schaden
7 more authors
  • Thorsten Schumm
  • Makoto Seto
  • Kenji Tamasaku
  • Sayuri Takatori
  • Yoshitaka Yoda
  • Akihiro Yoshimi
  • Koji Yoshimura
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Thorium-229 doped calcium fluoride (229Th:CaF2) is a leading candidate for a solid-state nuclear clock, owing to the unusually low energy of the 229Th isomer transition at 8.3557\,eV and the very high banggap of CaF2 around 12\,eV. Here we report a temperature-dependent study of 229Th:CaF2 luminescence, covering radioluminescence, photoluminescence, thermoluminescence, and afterglow. Using synchrotron x-ray excitation together with a cryo-vacuum system, we resolve the thermal quenching of the self-trapped exciton (STE) scintillation into its triplet and singlet components, identify eleven thermoluminescence glow peaks together with their associated emission bands, and separate the temperature-dependent components that make up the long-lived afterglow. The trap depths obtained in this way are closely correlated with the temperature dependence of x-ray-induced isomer quenching, including the enhanced isomer yield near \SI{-60}{\celsius} and the minimum near \SI{-80}{\celsius}, supporting the carrier-trapping picture in which trapped carriers are unavailable to quench the nucleus. Taken together, these results connect the optical and nuclear observables of 229Th:CaF2 through a unified picture of electron defects and Th-related traps, while providing a comprehensive characterization of the material relevant to solid-state nuclear clock operation.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{guan2026defect,
  title = {{Defect Dynamics and Isomer Quenching in $^229$Th:CaF$_2$ Crystals}},
  author = {Ming Guan and Michael Bartokos and Kjeld Beeks and Takahiro Hiraki and Shinji Kitao and Takahiko Masuda and Nobumoto Nagasawa and Koichi Okai and Ryoichiro Ogake and Martin Pimon and Noboru Sasao and Fabian Schaden and Thorsten Schumm and Makoto Seto and Kenji Tamasaku and Sayuri Takatori and Yoshitaka Yoda and Akihiro Yoshimi and Koji Yoshimura},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.38843},
  eprint = {2609.38843},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.38843},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Defect Dynamics and Isomer Quenching in ^229Th:CaF_2 Crystals
AU  - Ming Guan
AU  - Michael Bartokos
AU  - Kjeld Beeks
AU  - Takahiro Hiraki
AU  - Shinji Kitao
AU  - Takahiko Masuda
AU  - Nobumoto Nagasawa
AU  - Koichi Okai
AU  - Ryoichiro Ogake
AU  - Martin Pimon
AU  - Noboru Sasao
AU  - Fabian Schaden
AU  - Thorsten Schumm
AU  - Makoto Seto
AU  - Kenji Tamasaku
AU  - Sayuri Takatori
AU  - Yoshitaka Yoda
AU  - Akihiro Yoshimi
AU  - Koji Yoshimura
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.38843
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.38843
AB  - Thorium-229 doped calcium fluoride (^229Th:CaF_2) is a leading candidate for a solid-state nuclear clock, owing to the unusually low energy of the ^229Th isomer transition at 8.3557\,eV and the very high banggap of CaF_2 around 12\,eV. Here we report a temperature-dependent study of ^229Th:CaF_2 luminescence, covering radioluminescence, photoluminescence, thermoluminescence, and afterglow. Using synchrotron x-ray excitation together with a cryo-vacuum system, we resolve the thermal quenching of the self-trapped exciton (STE) scintillation into its triplet and singlet components, identify eleven thermoluminescence glow peaks together with their associated emission bands, and separate the temperature-dependent components that make up the long-lived afterglow. The trap depths obtained in this way are closely correlated with the temperature dependence of x-ray-induced isomer quenching, including the enhanced isomer yield near \SI{-60}{\celsius} and the minimum near \SI{-80}{\celsius}, supporting the carrier-trapping picture in which trapped carriers are unavailable to quench the nucleus. Taken together, these results connect the optical and nuclear observables of ^229Th:CaF_2 through a unified picture of electron defects and Th-related traps, while providing a comprehensive characterization of the material relevant to solid-state nuclear clock operation.
ER  -