Optical and scintillation properties of Nd-doped complex garnet

• Nd 1% doped (Y, Gd, Lu)3(Ga, Al)5O12 scintillators were developed.
• Scintillation properties of Nd-doped complex garnet were investigated.
• Thermally stimulated luminescence glow curves of Nd-doped complex garnet were studied.
• Afterglow time profiles of Nd-doped garnet scintillators were evaluated.

Nd 1% doped complex garnet scintillators were prepared by Furukawa and their optical and scintillation properties were investigated on a comparison with previously reported Nd-doped YAG. Chemical compositions of newly developed complex garnets were Lu2Y1Al5O12, Lu2Y1Ga3Al2O12, Lu2Gd1Al5O12, Lu2Gd1Ga3Al2O12, Gd1Y2Al5O12, Gd1Y2Ga3Al2O12, and Gd3Ga3Al2O12. They all showed 50–80% transmittance from ultraviolet to near infrared wavelengths with several absorption bands due to Gd3+ or Nd3+ 4f–4f transition. In X-ray induced radioluminescence spectra, all samples exhibited intense lines at 310 nm due to Gd3+ or 400 nm due to Nd3+ depending on their chemical composition. Among them, the highest scintillation light yield was achieved by Lu2Y1Al5O12. Typical scintillation decay times of them resulted 1.5–3 μs. Thermally stimulated glow curve after 1 Gy exposure and X-ray induced afterglow were also investigated.