Abstract: CsI(Tl) films were prepared by thermal evaporation and annealed at various temperatures. Structure and scintillation properties of the films were examined using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscope and scintillation pulse height spectrometry. Results show that the CsI films are in micro-columnar structure with a preferential (200) orientation. When the sample is annealed at 150℃, Tl⁺ ions diffuse to the sample surface. Consequently, the amount and size of the vacancy type of defects increase. However, the light yield increases a little after annealed. The samples annealed at 250℃ have a good crystalline state and scintillation properties. As the annealing temperature increases to 400℃, the light output of the samples decreases seriously due to the dramatic change of their microstructure and the decrease of Ti⁺.

Key words: CsI films, microstructure, scintillation properties