Cathodoluminescence and scintillation characteristics of YAG:Ce crystals grown by horizontal directional crystallization in a protective atmosphere.

YAG:Ce crystals have been grown by a new gas-phase horizontal directional crystallization (HDC) technique in a protective atmosphere and their cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra and scintillation characteristics have been studied. Using this HDC technology, it is possible to obtain large (110 × 150 × 35 mm) crystals with a high specific light yield (15 000–18 000 Ph/MeV) and good amplitude resolution (8–10%) for the excitation with 5.15-MeV α particles from a ²³⁹Pu source. In addition to an intense band at 550 nm due to Ce³⁺ ions, the CL spectra of crystals display an intrinsic emission band of YAG in the UV spectral range, which is due to the presence of Y_Al antisite defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]