Structural and scintillation properties of new Ce3+-doped alumino-borate

The compound LuAl3(BO3)(4) doped with Ce3+ ions has been synthesized and investigated for the first time, It was compared with analogous Y and Gd alumino-borates. All materials have been prepared in the form of polycrystalline powders by solid state reaction. These three compounds have a trigonal structure with a R32 space group and the symmetry of each aluminium, lanthanide and boron site have been confirmed by MAS-NMR experiments. Main structural, thermal and fluorescence properties are given. The results show that in these compounds there are two sites of Ce3+ and in the ultra violet range (maximum at 340 and 365 nm) Ce3+ exhibits a 25 ns fluorescence. An extra-emission is observed in the low energy range. It could be originated from non-regular sites (aluminium and/or interstitial sites). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.