Fabrication and photoluminescence characteristic of Pr:LuAG scintillator ceramics

0.5at% Pr:LuAG transparent ceramics was fabricated by a solid state reaction method. The transmission of the ceramics beyond 310 nm reaches to around 75%. When excited by ultraviolet (UV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light, the domain emission near 309 nm was observed which was due to the 5d-4f radiative transition of Pr3+. Its photoluminescence decay time is about 19 ns. VUV excitation and emission spectrum at 14 K and 289 K respectively reveal the existence of defects and other centers, which are sensitive to temperature and anneal process. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.