Scintillation properties of cerium-doped gadolinium-scandium-aluminum garnets

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Abstract

Optical properties and scintillation responses of cerium doped gadolinium-scandium-aluminum garnets (GSAG), pulled by the Czochralski method, were studied with regard to applications in scintillation counters. Scintillation responses were investigated for irradiation with charged particles, γ-rays and neutrons. The observed decay constant (τ = 120 ns) is shorter than in common inorganic scintillators like NaI(T1) and bismuth germanate (BGO). The attenuation coefficient exceeds the value reported for Nal(T1). GSAG(Ce) shows a higher light yield (30% when compared with NaI(T1)) and better energy resolution (12.5% for 662 keV γ-rays from 137Cs) than BGO. To demonstrate the feasibility for neutron detection, crystals were irradiated with slow neutrons (from 14.7 meV to 120 meV) from a neutron diffraction spectrometer at the Grenoble pile Melusine and fast neutrons (≥ 7.9 MeV) from the Stuttgart Dynamitron accelerator using the 9Be(α, n)12C reaction.

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