Effect of lithium codopant concentration on the luminescence properties of (Lu0.75Y0.25)3Al5O12:Pr3+ single crystals: Before and after air annealing

In this paper, we present the photoluminescence and scintillation performance of Pr3+ doped (Lu0.75Y0.25)(3)Al5O12 single crystals as a function of Li+ concentration. Lithium concentration had no effect on the optical properties of LuYAG: Pr single crystal scintillators regardless of concentration. On the other hand, scintillation light yield increased by as much as 94% with the incorporation of lithium as a codopant, and the energy resolution at 662 keV was improved to 4.1%, which is an outstanding energy resolution for an oxide single crystal scintillator. Lithium codoping slightly lengthened the fast component of the scintillation decay time, and slightly decreased the contribution from the slow component. Additionally, the samples were annealed in air and scintillation properties were compared before and after this annealing treatment. The change in scintillation properties is explained through the analysis of thermoluminescence glow curves.