Luminescence characteristics of Lu2SiO5:Ce3+ (LSO:Ce) ceramic scintillators under VUV-UV excitation

The luminescent properties of LSO:Ce (1 mol%) scintillators were characterized systematically under vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)-UV excitation. Under 185 nm VUV excitation, a broad emission band was detected in the wavelength range from 350 nm to 600 nm at different temperatures, which is ascribed to the 5d→4f electron transitions of Ce3+. Excitation wavelength and temperature effects on luminescent properties of LSO:Ce ceramic scintillators were investigated in this paper. At 50 K, the emission intensity of Ce1 (Ce3+ locating in seven-oxygen-coordinated site) was much stronger than that of Ce2 (Ce3+ locating in six-oxygen-coordinated site), and the total emission intensity excited by 355 nm (Ce1) was higher than that excited by 185 nm (host). The total luminescence intensity increases as the rising temperature in the temperature range of 150-300 K, which is originated from thermal enhancement of transportation of free carriers dominating Ce1 emission.