Scintillation properties of transparent Lu-α-SiAlON:Ce³⁺ ceramics

The high durability under harsh environment including high temperature, high humidity, and high radiation is required for scintillators used for decommissioning of nuclear facilities and radiation monitoring in nuclear fusion reactors. alpha-SiAlON ceramics are highly potential for such scintillators because of their thermal and mechanical durability and luminescence corresponding to doped rare-earth ion. In this study, scintillation properties of transparent Lu-alpha-SiAlON:Ce3+ ceramics were investigated for the first time. Lu-alpha-SiAlON:Ce(3+ )showed the scintillation responses to alpha-rays and X-rays. The alpha-rays-induced scintillation decay curve consists of two components whose decay time are 48 and 652 ns. The faster decay component most presumably results from 4f-5d transition of Ce3+, whereas the origin of the slower one is unclear but may be defects in alpha-SiAlON. The light yield of the Lu-alpha-SiAlON:Ce3+ ceramics was 1300 photons 5.5 MeV-1.