Growth and scintillation properties of Pr doped Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12 single crystals

Pr:Gd-3(Ga,Al)(5)O-12 single crystals were grown by the micro-pulling down (mu-PD) method. All grown crystals were greenish and transparent with 3.0 mm in diameter, 15-30 mm in length. Neither visible inclusions nor cracks were observed. Luminescence and scintillation properties were measured. The substitution at the Al3+ sites by Ga3+ in garnet structure has been studied. In these crystals, Pr3+ 5d-4f emission is observed with 340 nm wavelength. Pr1%:Gd3Ga3Al2O12 shows highest emission intensity. The light yield of Pr:Gd3Ga3Al2O12 sample with 3 mm phi x 1 mm size was around 4500 photon/MeV. Scintillation decay time was 7.9 ns (0.5%), 46 ns (0.7%) and 214 ns (98.8%). (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.