Photoluminescence, scintillation and TSL properties of Eu-doped Al2O3 transparent ceramics synthesized by spark plasma sintering method.

Abstract We synthesized Al 2 O 3 transparent ceramics doped with different concentrations of Eu (0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1.0%) by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method, and then we investigated their photoluminescence (PL), scintillation and thermally-stimulated luminescence (TSL) properties. In the PL, the samples showed a broad emission peak at 400 nm due to the 5d-4f transitions of Eu2+ and several sharp emission peaks across 550–750 nm due to the 4f-4f transitions of Eu3+ and the 3d-3d transitions of Cr3+ impurity ion. In addition to these peaks over 550–750 nm, in scintillation, the samples exhibited two broad peaks over 300–400 nm possibly due to not the 5d-4f transitions of Eu2+ but F and F+ centers. In TSL, the glow curve consisted of peaks at approximately 100, 160, 210 and 320 °C. The TSL intensity of the 0.001% Eu-doped sample was the highest, and the TSL response was confirmed to be linear to irradiated X-ray dose in the range from 0.1 to 1000 mGy. Highlights • We developed Eu-doped Al 2 O 3 transparent ceramics by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. • TSL glow peaks at approximately 100, 160, 210 and 320 °C were observed in the Eu-doped samples. • The TSL response was confirmed to be linear to the irradiated X-ray dose range from 0.1 to 1000 mGy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]