Scintillation properties of Gd3Al2Ga3O12:Ce3+ single crystal scintillators

• Scintillation properties of GAGG:Ce crystals were studied.
• High light yield value over 47,000 ph/MeV was obtained.
• Dependences of yield on sample height and shaping time were examined.
• Photofraction and mass attenuation at 320 and 662 keV were evaluated.

The scintillation properties of Gd3Al2Ga3O12:Ce3+ (GAGG:Ce) single crystals grown by the Czochralski method with 1 at% cerium in the melt were investigated and results were compared with so far published results in the literature. The light yield (LY) and energy resolution were measured using a XP5200B photomultiplier. Despite about twice higher LY for GAGG:Ce, the energy resolution is only slightly better than that of LuAG:Ce due to its worse intrinsic resolution and non-proportionality of LY. The LY dependences on the sample thickness and amplifier shaping time were measured. The estimated photofraction in pulse height spectra of 320 and 662 keV γ-rays and the total mass attenuation coefficient at 662 keV γ-rays were also determined and compared with the theoretical ones calculated using the WinXCom program.