Inorganic scintillator plays an important role in radiation detection in many sectors of fundamental and applied research, such as nuclear and high energy physics experiments, and in almost all medical diagnostic imaging modalities that use X-rays or gamma rays, and many industrial measuring systems. The eulytite crystals Bi₄M₃O₁₂ (M=Si, Ge) have been investigated due to their excellent characteristics such as luminescent decay constant, absence of afterglow, light output, radiation hardness and nonhygroscopicity. Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ (BGO) crystal has advantages of short radiation length X0=1.12 cm, light output as large as 10% of NaI:Tl but it has drawbacks of slow decay time (τ~300 ns) and expensive component GeO₂. On the other hand, Bi₄Si₃O₁₂ (BSO) crystal has faster decay time and cheaper raw materials but low light yield and difficult growth. Thus, Bi₄ (Ge_1-xSi_x)₃O₁₂ (BGSO) solid solution was expected to modify their properties. In the present work, BGO, BSO and BGSO crystals have grown by the modified vertical Bridgman method. A comparative study on scintillation properties of as grown crystals has been reported. BGSO crystals with 0-15% BGO showed similar properties of pure BSO crystals, but the segregation of Bi2O3 in the mixed crystal was modified compared with pure BSO. The thermal and mechanical properties of BGO, BSO and BGSO were measured also.

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