Development of Ce-doped Gd3Al5−yGayO12 Nanoparticle Scintillators

Abstract

We synthesized Ce-doped Gd 3 Al 5−y Ga y O 12 (GAGG) nanoparticle scintillators for obtaining efficient emission in living bodies upon X-ray irradiation from outside. To obtain a high photoluminescence quantum yield (QY), the chemical composition and synthesis conditions were optimized. The highest QY of 90%, which is higher than that of a commercially available Ce-doped GAGG single-crystal scintillator (87%), was achieved with the composition for Gd:Al:Ga = 3:3:2, a Ce concentration of 0.1 mol% relative to (Gd + Ce), aging at room temperature for 1 d, and a calcination temperature of 1300 °C. The size of the particles was 200-300 nm. A dominant emission band at around 550 nm was observed in the photoluminescence and X-ray-induced radioluminescence spectra and attributed to the 5d-4f transition of Ce 3+ . The high photoluminescence QY and appropriate size for applications in living bodies indicated that nanoparticle scintillators based on Ce-doped GAGG were successfully developed.

Scintillation Properties of Ba3RE(PO4)3 Single Crystals (RE = Y, La, Lu)

“…Generally, a scintillator requires several properties, including high scintillation light yield ( LY ); high energy resolution; low afterglow level ( Af ); suitable emission wavelength, which coincides with the spectral sensitivity of the photodetector (e.g., PMT: photomultiplier tube); short decay time; and no deliquescence. Up to now, many researchers have studied novel scintillators [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. However, there are no scintillators that have all the above requirements, and the development of new scintillators has been still ongoing.…”

Photoluminescence and Radioluminescence Properties of Y3Al5O12 Doped with 3d-Transition Metal Ions

“…Although many scintillators have been studied in the last few decades, (4)(5)(6)(7) fundamental studies on novel scintillators still continue to achieve better performance than ever before. There have been reports on various types of scintillator, such as single crystals, (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) nanocrystals, (22) crystalline films, (23) ceramics, (24)(25)(26)(27) glasses, (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37) plastics, (38) and organic-inorganic hybrid materials, (39)(40)(41)(42) even in the last few years. In terms of the luminescent center, specific dopants such as Ce, Eu, and Tl have been mainly used for commercial scintillators; however, other dopants are also of our interest.…”