Abstract
The scintillation properties and time-resolved
spectroscopy results for Li3Lu(PO4)2:Ce - a new Ce3+-activated
crystalline scintillator have been determined. This material
contains stoichiometric amounts of Li, and can be synthesized
either with the use of 6Li-enriched or 6Li-depleted isotopes, for
achieving thermal neutron sensitivity or X-ray/gamma-ray
detection without neutron sensitivity, respectively. The
scintillation of Li3Lu(PO4)2:Ce is based on the Ce3+-activator UV
(336 and 360 nm) emission, and for a 2 wt. % activation level and
gamma ray photon excitation, it exhibits a light yield of about
5300 photons/MeV and a decay time constant of 24.7 ns - with no
longer component observed in the time range up to 2 ms. Host
emissions, while present for some specific excitations in the region
of the bandgap energy, does not appear to play a significant role
in the material’s scintillation, which is most probably
accomplished by the consecutive capture and recombination of
free band holes and electrons on the activator ions.