Crystal Growth and Scintillation Properties of Ce Doped Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12 Single Crystals.

Ce1%, 2% and 3% doped Gd3(Ga,Al)5 O12 (GAGG) single crystals were grown by the Cz method. Luminescence and scintillation properties were measured. Light yield change along the growth direction and effects of Ce concentration on scintillation properties in Ce:GAGG were studied. Ce^3+ 5d-4f emission within 520–530 nm was observed in the Ce:GAGG crystals. The Ce1%:GAGG sample with 3\times 3\times 1~mm size showed the highest light yield of 46000 photon/MeV. The energy resolution was 7.8%@662 keV. With increasing solidification fraction, the LY were decreased. It is proposed that the increase of Ga concentration along the growth direction is the main cause of the decrease of LY. The scintillation decay times were accelerated with increasing Ce concentration in the Ce:GAGG crystals. The scintillation decay times were 92.0 ns, 79.1 ns and 68.3 ns in the Ce1, 2 and 3% GAGG, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]