Comparative study of optical and scintillation properties of Tm3+:YAG, and Tm3+:LuAG single crystals

The optical and scintillation properties of Tm3+-doped yttrium aluminum garnet Y3Al5O12 (YAG) and Tm3+-doped lutetium aluminum garnet Lu3Al5O12 (LuAG) are compared. The Tm3+-doped single crystals were grown by the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) technique. Both crystals demonstrated some emission peaks originated from 4f–4f forbidden transition of Tm3+ under 241Am alpha-ray excitation. The scintillation decay time of Tm3+-doped YAG was similar to that of LuAG. When irradiated by the gamma-rays from a 137Cs source, the relative scintillation light yields of Tm:YAG was 90% greater than that of Tm:LuAG.

► Optical and scintillation properties of Tm:Y3Al5O12 and Tm:Lu3Al5O12 are compared.
► The Tm3+-doped crystals were grown by the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) technique.
► Both crystals showed 4f–4f forbidden emission of Tm3+ under alpha-ray excitation.
► The scintillation light yields of Tm:YAG was 90% greater than that of Tm:LuAG.