Fabrication and properties of Eu:Lu_2O_3 transparent ceramics for X-ray radiation detectors

摘要

Europium-doped lutetium oxide (Eu:Lu2O3) nano-powders were synthesized by a co-precipitation method from europium and lutetium nitrates using ammonium hydrogen carbonate (AHC) as the precipitant. Fine and low agglomerated powders with average particle size of 68 nm were obtained by calcining the precursor at 1100 degrees C for 4 h. Using this powder as starting material, Eu:Lu2O3 transparent ceramics with the average grain size of similar to 46 sm were fabricated by vacuum sintering at 1650 degrees C for 30 h, whose in-line transmittance reaches 66.3% at 611 nm. The influences of air annealing on optical transmittance, decay time, spectroscopic properties, light output and thermally stimulated luminescence of Eu:Lu2O3 ceramics were investigated in detail. Based on radioluminescence spectra, the light output of the annealed Eu:Lu2O3 ceramics is 10 times higher than that of the commercially available BGO single crystal, and it indicates that transparent Eu:Lu2O3 scintillation ceramics is a promising candidate for X-ray radiation detectors.