Ce concentration dependence on scintillation properties of SrHfO3 single crystals

Transparent and yellowish Ce-doped SrHfO3 (Ce:SHO) single crystals were grown by the xenon lamp equipped floating zone method. The synthesized crystals were in the single phase of SHO crystal structure, and no impurity phases such as HfO2 were evident by the X-ray diffraction analysis. The Ce:SHO shows blue luminescence peaking at 410 nm in both the PL and scintillation spectra, and the decay time constant was approximately 14 ns. The PL QY increases with the Ce concentration, which was confirmed up to 5%. The afterglow level is the lowest when the Ce concentration is 3%. The full energy peak can be demonstrated with all the Ce:SHO single crystals prepared in this study under 241Am alpha-ray irradiation, and the es-timated light yield is 396 photons/MeV for the 3% Ce:SHO, which is the highest among the samples studied.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Transparent and yellowish Ce-doped SrHfO3 (Ce:SHO) single crystals were successfully grown by the xenon lamp equipped floating zone method. The Ce:SHO exhibited blue luminescence with a peak wavelength of 410 nm and a decay time constant of approximately 14 ns. The photoluminescence quantum yield increased with the Ce concentration, reaching the highest value at 5%. The afterglow level was the lowest when the Ce concentration was 3%. Under 241Am alpha-ray irradiation, all the prepared Ce:SHO single crystals showed full energy peaks, with the 3% Ce:SHO sample exhibiting the highest estimated light yield.