Role of the Dilution of the Gd Sublattice in Forming the Scintillation Properties of Quaternary (Gd,Lu)<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>2</sub>Ga<sub>3</sub>O<sub>12</sub>: Ce Ceramics
Mikhail Korzhik,
Vasilii Retivov,
Alexei Bondarau,
Georgiy Dosovitskiy,
Valery Dubov,
Irina Kamenskikh,
Petr Karpuk,
Daria Kuznetsova,
Valentina Smyslova,
Vitaly Mechinsky,
Vladimir Pustovarov,
Dmitry Tavrunov,
Evgeniy Tishchenko,
Andrei Vasil’ev
Affiliations
Mikhail Korzhik
Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarus State University, 11 Bobruiskaya, 220030 Minsk, Belarus
Vasilii Retivov
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Alexei Bondarau
Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarus State University, 11 Bobruiskaya, 220030 Minsk, Belarus
Georgiy Dosovitskiy
NRC “Kurchatov Institute”—IREA, 107076 Moscow, Russia
Valery Dubov
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Irina Kamenskikh
Physical Department of Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Petr Karpuk
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Daria Kuznetsova
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Valentina Smyslova
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Vitaly Mechinsky
Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarus State University, 11 Bobruiskaya, 220030 Minsk, Belarus
Vladimir Pustovarov
Physics Department, Ural Federal University, 620002 Yekaterinburg, Russia
Dmitry Tavrunov
Physics Department, Ural Federal University, 620002 Yekaterinburg, Russia
Evgeniy Tishchenko
Physical Department of Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Andrei Vasil’ev
Skobelchin Institute for Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Technological factors and processes contributing to the scintillation mechanism have been considered in quaternary garnet ceramics doped with Ce(Gd,Lu)3Al2Ga3O12. The super-stoichiometric additive of gadolinium in the material composition or its co-doping with a low concentration of Mg were found to be effective tools to suppress phosphorescence in the quaternary garnet, confirming that it is not an intrinsic property of the material. The Monte-Carlo simulation of electronic excitation transfer demonstrates that the hopping migration along the gadolinium sublattice plays an essential role in forming the scintillation kinetic parameters. Breaking the integrity of the gadolinium sublattice by substitution with heavier lutetium ions increases the role of self-trapped states in the excitation of Ce3+ ions, which ensures both an increase in the fraction of short ~20 ns and very long ~600 ns components in the scintillation kinetics.
