Characterization and scintillation properties of sol–gel derived Lu 2SiO 5:Ln 3+ (Ln = Ce, Eu and Tb) powders

Abstract

In this paper, we report the synthesis, the characterization and the scintillation properties of sol–gel derived Lu 2SiO 5 (LSO) powders. Ce 3+, Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ doped LSO powders have been synthesized by an original sol–gel process. The purity of the materials has been checked by X-ray diffraction, confirming the elaboration of monophasic powders even for doped samples. Finally, the scintillation properties of the rare earth-doped materials have been studied, the substitution of Ln 3+ (Ln: Ce, Eu or Tb) for Lu 3+ is confirmed, the scintillation yields have been calculated and the afterglow have also been measured, confirming the potentiality of the sol–gel derived LSO.