Basic Properties of Ceramic Pr:LuAG Scintillators

This paper describes the first report of a Pr3+-doped transparent ceramic Lu3Al3O12(Pr:LuAG) scintillator. Transparent ceramic Pr 0.25 mol% doped LuAG was developed by a sintering method, and achieved 70% transparency at wavelengths longer than 310 nm. The emission wavelength of the ceramic Pr:LuAG shifts to longer wavelengths than that of its single crystalline counterpart. The light yield was measured by irradiation of Cs-137, and was almost half as that of the single crystalline counterpart. The energy resolution at 662 keV was 12% which was about three times as worse as that of the single crystalline one. The decay time showed a big difference with the single crystalline one because its slower component disappeared due to defects.