Optical and Near-Infrared Scintillation Properties of Nd3+-Doped YVO4 Crystals

In this paper, we report on the optical and near-infrared (NIR) scintillation properties of YVO4:Nd (0.5 and 3.0 mol%) crystals grown by the conventional floating zone technique. In optical transmission spectra, a number of absorption lines owing to Nd3+ appeared in the ultraviolet (UV) NIR wavelength regions. Photoluminescence and X-ray-excited radioluminscence spectra showed characteristic Nd3+ emission peaks centered at approximately 1064 and 1319 nrn, which correspond to the transitions from the 4F312 excited state to the F-4(3/2) and I-4(11/2) states of Nd3+. The NIR scintillation intensities showed good linearity to irradiation dose in the range from 1 to 1000 mGy X-ray. Thermal quenching of the NIR scintillation for the 3.0 mol% Nd-doped crystal was less than that of the 0.5 mol% Nd-doped crystal.