Crystal growth and scintillation properties of Nd-doped Lu3Al5O12 single crystals with different Nd concentrations

Nd 0.1%, 0.5%, 1% and 3% doped Lu3Al5O12 (Nd:LuAG) single crystals were grown in the nitrogen atmosphere by the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) method. The grown crystals had a single-phase confirmed by powder XRD analysis. In absorption spectra, some weak absorption lines due to Nd3+ 4f–4f transitions were observed and their intensity increased with the increase of Nd concentration. When excited by 241Am α-ray, a broad emission peak due to defects in the host lattice at 320 nm and some sharp lines due to Nd3+ 4f–4f transitions at wavelength longer than 400 nm were observed. The decay time profiles of Nd:LuAG under γ-ray excitation were well approximated by two exponential function of 340–760 ns and 3–5 μs for each sample. By pulse height measurement using 137Cs, Nd 0.5%:LuAG showed the highest light yield of 7600 ± 760 photons/MeV.

Research highlights
► Nd 0.1%, 0.5%, 1% and 3% doped LuAG single crystals were grown by the μ-PD method.
► In absorption spectra, weak absorption lines due to Nd3+ 4f–4f transitions were observed.
► They showed emission peaks due to the host emission and Nd3+ 4f–4f transitions.
► The Nd 0.5%:LuAG showed the highest light yield estimated to be 7600 photons/MeV.