Scintillation and optical properties of Ce-doped YAGG transparent ceramics

We investigated photoluminescence（PL） and scintillation properties of Ce3+-doped Y3Al2Ga3O12（Ce:YAGG） transparent ceramics synthesized by vacuum sintering with different Ce3+ concentrations（mol.%） from 0.3% to 1%（0.3%Ce:YAGG, 0.5%Ce:YAGG, 0.8%Ce:YAGG and 1%Ce:YAGG）. The samples were synthesized by the vacuum sintering technique. The obtained samples showed a very strong and broad PL emission by the 5d1-4f transition of Ce3+ in the wavelength range from 470 to 600 nm. The PL decay profiles were approximated by a single exponential decay function with the time constants of around 33–39 ns. Furthermore, the scintillation spectra induced by X-rays showed similar features with those observed in PL. The scintillation decay time profiles followed a second-order exponential decay function. The fast component group（ranged 35–42 ns） were dominantly contributed by the 5d1-4f transition of Ce3+. The pulse height spectra utilizing the latter emissions showed a clear photoabsorption peak. Among those samples tested, 0.5%Ce:YAGG sample showed the highest scintillation light yield of 21,400 ph/MeV under 137Cs γ-ray irradiation.