Optical and Scintillation Properties of Tm-doped Y2O3 Transparent Ceramics Synthesized by the Spark Plasma Sintering Method

Tm:Y 2 O 3 transparent ceramic scintillators with Tm concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mol% were fabricated by the spark plasma sintering method to investigate their photoluminescence (PL) and scintillation properties.Both PL and scintillation peaks were observed in the range of 350-650 nm, corresponding to the 4f-4f transitions of Tm 3+ .Scintillation decay curves were well-approximated by two exponential components with decay time constants of 1.8-6.9 and 10-40 s.Afterglow levels ranged from approximately 250 to 800 ppm and tended to decrease with Tm concentration.Scintillation light yields under 241 Am -ray (5.5 MeV) irradiation were estimated to be approximately 1400-1500 photons/5.5MeV.