CAREER: Towards Engineering Electronic Defects in Inorganic Luminescent Materials

非技术描述：发光存在于我们的日常生活中，例如，从电子屏幕和照明到医学成像。它影响着节能、健康和安全。发光可以通过几种方式产生，特别是电离辐射。同样，发光材料用于检测和测量电离辐射，例如闪烁体和剂量计。本研究通过发现和开发更有效的电离辐射传感器，促进增强型发光材料的发展，对生活和社会产生积极影响。它还支持研究、培训和教育之间的整合；向代表性不足的少数群体伸出援手；加强南卡罗来纳州高中的教育基础设施。具体而言，它旨在提高高中生对材料科学与工程作为相关和有吸引力的专业路径的认识，并开发资源和策略，将材料科学与工程的基本概念纳入高中科学课程。材料科学和工程专业的毕业生通常会在先进材料和工程部件行业找到工作。技术细节：闪烁体和剂量计的性能与电子陷阱的存在有关，这些陷阱对应于由空位、间隙、杂质等缺陷产生的带隙内的局部能级。该项目是第一个将发光材料的化学成分和晶体结构等特性与电子陷阱的特定特性联系起来的综合研究。在此背景下，该项目的目标包括研究材料家族和掺杂剂的结构与电子陷阱的性质和特征及其发光/闪烁特性之间的关系，以及指导发现新成分和开发各种形式的发光材料，以满足闪烁和剂量学的需求。鉴于迄今为止发现闪烁体和剂量计的偶然性质，该项目为发光材料中的工程电子陷阱提供了一种创新和变革的方法，以指导发现，创造功能，并提高剂量计和闪烁体的性能。在这项研究中，本科生和研究生将接受与无机发光材料的合成、加工和表征相关的前沿研究方法和技术的培训。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:Luminescence is present in our daily life, e.g., from electronic screens and lighting to medical imaging. It affects energy conservation, health and security. Luminescence is generated in several ways, in particular by ionizing radiation. Likewise, luminescent materials are used for the detection and measurement of ionizing radiation, e.g., scintillators and dosimeters. This research promotes the development of enhanced luminescent materials positively affecting life and society through the discovery and development of more efficient sensors for ionizing radiation. It also supports the integration between research, training and education; outreach towards underrepresented minority groups; and enhancement of educational infrastructure in high schools in South Carolina. Specifically, it aims at increasing the awareness of materials science and engineering to high school students as a relevant and attractive professional path, and the development of resources and strategies to incorporate fundamental concepts of materials science and engineering into science classes in high school. Materials science and engineering graduates commonly find employment in advanced materials and engineered components industries.TECHNICAL DETAILS: The performance of scintillators and dosimeters is related to, among other things, the presence of electronic traps that correspond to localized energy levels within the band gap generated by defects like vacancies, interstitials, impurities, etc. This project is the first comprehensive investigation that relates characteristics of luminescent materials such as chemical composition and crystallographic structure to the specific characteristics of electronic traps. Within this context, the goals of this project include the investigation of relationships between the structure of families of materials and dopants with the nature and characteristics of their electronic traps and their luminescent/scintillating properties, as well as guided discovery of new compositions and development of luminescent materials in diverse forms to answer for scintillating and dosimetric needs. Given the serendipitous nature of the discovery of scintillators and dosimeters to date, this project offers an innovative and transformative approach toward engineering electronic traps in luminescent materials to guide discovery, create functionality, and enhance performance of dosimeters and scintillators. Within this research, undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in cutting-edge research methods and techniques related to synthesis, processing, and characterization of inorganic luminescent materials.