Deposition of Scintillating Layers of Bismuth Germanate (BGO) Films for X-ray detector applications

Bi4Ge3O12 films were deposited by pulsed laser ablation on glass and SiO2/Si substrates. The crystal structures of the films depend on the deposition temperature. XRD patterns indicate that the films deposited at substrate temperature less than 400°C are amorphous. The as deposited amorphous films can be crystallized by post rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in the temperature window from 750°C to 800°C for 2 minutes in a oxygen ambient environment. RBS measurements confirm that the films have the same chemical composition as that of the target. The surface morphology of the films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM)