Fabrication, microstructure and properties of highly transparent Ce3+:Lu3Al5O12 scintillator ceramics

Abstract Ce 3+ :Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 (Ce:LuAG) scintillator ceramics were fabricated using solid state reaction method. High transparency (∼80% at 550 nm) was obtained, the grain boundary was clean and no secondary phase was observed. After further optimized by an air-annealing process, Ce:LuAG ceramic shows a much higher steady state scintillation efficiency than that of BGO single crystal under X-ray excitation, and the light yield ( 137 Cs, 662KeV) improved around double compared with that of the before one. The radiation hardness of Ce:LuAG ceramic was investigated under 60 Co gamma radiation with dose of 2 × 10 5 Gy and a dose rate of about 1 × 10 4 Gy/h. The radiation induced absorption appears in ∼380 nm and 610 nm (away from the emission band of Ce:LuAG) demonstrating its perspective for application in High Energy Physics.