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Expanded phase stability of Gd-based garnet transparent ceramic scintillators

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Abstract

Gadolinium-based transparent polycrystalline ceramic garnet scintillators are being developed for gamma spectroscopy detectors. The scintillator light yield and energy resolution depend on many of the ceramic characteristics, including composition, homogeneity, and presence of secondary phases. To investigate phase stability dependence on composition, three base compositions — Gd3Ga2.2Al2.8O12, Gd1.5Y1.5Ga2.2Al2.8O12, and Gd1.5Y1.5Ga2.5Al2.5O12 were studied, and for each composition the rare earth content was varied according to the formula (Gd,Y,Ce)3(YXGa1−X)2(Ga,Al)3O12; where −0.01 < X < 0.05. We have found that yttrium and gallium help to stabilize the garnet crystal structure in the ceramics by allowing interionic substitution among the cationic garnet sites. Specifically, a composition of Gd1.49Y1.49Ce0.02Ga2.5Al2.5O12 can accommodate approximately 2 at.% excess rare earth ions from the perfect garnet stoichiometry and remain a phase pure transparent ceramic with optimal performance as a radiation detector. This expanded phase stability region helps to enable the fabrication of large transparent ceramics from powder with tolerance for flexibility in chemical stoichiometric precision.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors appreciate help from Todd Stefanik of Nanocerox for powder production, Jim Peterson with powder processing, and Patrick Beck for gamma ray spectroscopy. This work has been supported by the US Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, under competitively awarded IAA HSHQDC-09-x-00208/P00002. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-JRNL-653204.

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  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, 94550, USA

    Zachary M. Seeley, Nerine J. Cherepy & Stephen A. Payne

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  1. Zachary M. Seeley
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  2. Nerine J. Cherepy
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  3. Stephen A. Payne
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Correspondence to Zachary M. Seeley.

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This paper has been selected as an Invited Feature Paper.

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Seeley, Z.M., Cherepy, N.J. & Payne, S.A. Expanded phase stability of Gd-based garnet transparent ceramic scintillators. Journal of Materials Research 29, 2332–2337 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.235

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.235

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