Spectral emission of rare-earth doped Lu2SiO5 single crystals

Radioluminescence of float-zone grown single-crystal Lu2SiO5:RE (RE = Tb, Sm, Tm, Eu, Pr, Yb) has been measured and prominent electronic transitions have been identified. Tb, Sm and Tm are excellent host-lattice activators that yield strong emission relative to the luminescence from well-known Lu2SiO5:Ce. Eu- and Pr-doped Lu2SiO5 exhibit weak luminescence whereas the Yb-doped sample is non-luminescent in the UV-vis portion of the spectrum. With the possible exception of Lu2SiO5:Pr, Tb3+ is found to be an unintentional impurity in all samples investigated. Lu2SiO5:Sm is a candidate phosphor for radiation detection because it is dense and bright with orange-red emission that matches the spectral response of high-efficiency photodiodes.