Czochralski growth of Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce solid solution crystals

Single crystals of Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce (x=0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) were grown by Czochralski method. Continuous solid solution with calcite structure and a linear compositional dependency of crystal lattice parameter in the system Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce are formed and their symmetry belong to hexagonal system with R3c space group checked by X‐ray powder diffraction. The electron probe micro‐analysis measurements show that the main inclusions in Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce crystals are in the form of Sc rich oxide and Ce rich oxide. The ICP‐AES tests show that the more Sc ion content in Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce, the smaller effective segregation coefficient of Ce in crystal will be. The X‐ray excited luminescence spectra of Lu1‐xScxBO3:Ce crystals all present a double peaked emission band with maxima round 370 and 400 nm corresponding to Ce3+ emission and a self trapped excitons (STE) band peaking at 269 nm. In addition, due to high density, high relative light yield, fast decay time and no‐hygroscopic property, Lu0.8Sc0.2BO3:1 at%Ce crystal could be a good candidate material for scintillation application by improving the crystal quality and cerium concentration. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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