Growth of Yb-doped Y ₂O ₃, Sc ₂O ₃, and Lu ₂O ₃ single crystals by the micro-pulling-down technique and their optical and scintillation characterization

In this report, growth of Yb-doped sesqui-oxide crystals of Y ₂O ₃, Sc ₂O ₃, and Lu ₂O ₃ by the micro-pulling-down technique and their scintillation performance are discussed. Growth of these crystals is difficult mostly as a result of their extremely high melting point of around 2400 °C. Nevertheless, appropriate design of the thermal zone and careful control of the growth parameters allowed fabrication of these crystals of reasonable quality. Based on the results of measurements of emission spectra under α-ray excitation and pulse height spectra under α-ray and γ-ray excitations, scintillation characteristics of above crystals including emission wavelength and light yields under α-ray and γ-ray excitations were examined. Additionally, decay kinetics of these materials under α-ray excitation were evaluated.