On the Quenching Mechanism of Ce, Tb Luminescence and Scintillation in Compositionally Disordered (Gd, Y, Yb)<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>2</sub>Ga<sub>3</sub>O<sub>12</sub> Garnet Ceramics
Valery Dubov,
Daria Kuznetsova,
Irina Kamenskikh,
Ilia Komendo,
Georgii Malashkevich,
Andrei Ramanenka,
Vasili Retivov,
Yauheni Talochka,
Andrei Vasil’ev,
Mikhail Korzhik
Affiliations
Valery Dubov
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Daria Kuznetsova
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Irina Kamenskikh
Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Ilia Komendo
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Georgii Malashkevich
B.I. Stepanov Institute of Physics, National Academy of Science of Belarus, Nezalezhnastsi Av.68-2, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
Andrei Ramanenka
B.I. Stepanov Institute of Physics, National Academy of Science of Belarus, Nezalezhnastsi Av.68-2, 220072 Minsk, Belarus
Vasili Retivov
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Yauheni Talochka
Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarus State University, 11 Bobruiskaya, 220030 Minsk, Belarus
Andrei Vasil’ev
Skobeltsyn Institute for Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Mikhail Korzhik
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Two series of (Gd, Y, Yb)3Al2Ga3O12 quintuple compounds with a garnet structure and solely doped with Ce and Tb were prepared in the form of ceramics by sintering in oxygen at 1600 °C for two hours and studied for the interaction of activator ions with ytterbium ions entering the matrix. It was shown that the photoluminescence and scintillation of Ce3+ ions are completely suppressed, predominantly by tunneling ionization through the charge transfer state (CTS) of the Ce4+-Yb2+ ions. The photoluminescence of Tb3+ ions is quenched in the presence of ytterbium, but not completely due to the poor resonance conditions of Tb3+ intraconfiguration transitions and the CTS of the single Yb3+ and the CTS of Ce4+-Yb2+ ions. The scintillation in the visible range of both Ce3+- and Tb3+-doped samples is intensely quenched as well, which indicates strong competition from Yb3+ ions to activators in interaction with the Gd substrate.
