Growth and luminescent properties of scintillators based on the single crystalline films of (Lu,Gd)3(Al,Ga)5O12:Ce garnets

Abstract

The work deals with the growth and investigation of luminescent properties of scintillators based on the single crystalline films (SCF) of the Ce3+ doped Lu3−xGdxAl5−yGayO12 multicomponent garnets prepared by the Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) method. We show that full set of Lu3−xGdxAl5−yGayO12 SCFs with x values in the 1.25–1.5 range and y values ranging from 0 to 4.0 in melt solution (MS) can be successfully crystallized by the LPE method onto Y3Al5O12 substrates from the MS based on PbO–B2O3 flux. The absorption, X-ray excited luminescence, photo-luminescence, thermoluminescence and also the light yield measurements under excitation by α-particles of Pu239 and Am241 radioisotopes were further employed for the characterization of the Lu3−x GdxAl5−yGayO12 SCF. We show that among all the investigated Lu3−xGdxAl5−yGayO12:Ce SCF scintillators, the best LY is realized in the Lu1.5Gd1.5Al1.5Ga3.5O12:Ce sample composition in MS.