Sintering mechanism and optical properties of (Lu1−xScxEu0.05)2O3 scintillation ceramics

(Lu1−xScx)2O3:Eu transparent ceramics (TC) were fabricated using vacuum sintering followed by heat isostatic pressure (HIP). The study explored the impact of variations in ceramic composition on the overall properties. The results revealed that a Sc concentration of 10 at. percent yielded a grain size of 3.91 µm and optimal ceramic transmittance, reaching 80.25% and 76.45% at wavelengths of 1000 nm and 611 nm wavelength, respectively. The Sc3+ concentration significantly influenced the scintillation properties of the material, with the highest transparency achieved at x = 0.1. Excessive or insufficient Sc3+ content led to reduced sample transparency. Additionally, Sc3+ concentration had a pronounced effect on the scintillation efficiency. When comparing X-ray excitation emission spectra for various ratios, it was determined that at x = 0.01, the scintillation properties exhibited approximately 6 times greater performance than those of BGO crystal samples. This represents a substantial improvement, an improvement of approximately 20% over Eu:Lu2O3 without Sc incorporation.