Scintillating ceramics based on non-stoichiometric strontium hafnate

A set of non-stoichiometric strontium-hafnate ceramic samples was synthesized by the spark plasma sintering technique from powder precursors of optimized composition. The scintillation and optical properties of ceramic samples were investigated by means of time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. We measured radioluminescence, photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra as well as luminescence decays excited by UV and soft X-rays, respectively. Multiple annealing was employed to optimize ceramic performance. Furthermore, optical properties of powder and ceramic sample of the same composition were compared. Application potential of studied ceramics in superfast imaging applications is discussed as well.