Novel Ultrafast Lu₂O₃:Yb Ceramics for Future HEP Applications

• Published in: Instruments
• Main Authors: Chen Hu, Liyuan Zhang, Ren-Yuan Zhu, Lakshmi Soundara Pandian, Yimin Wang, Jarek Glodo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
• Subjects: scintillators; ceramics; time of flight; ultrafast calorimetry; charge transfer luminescence; fast timing
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2410-390X/6/4/67
• ISSN: 2410-390X

Inorganic scintillators activated by charge transfer luminescence Yb³⁺ are considered promising ultrafast material to break the <i>ps</i> timing barrier for future high energy physics applications. Inorganic scintillators in ceramic form are potentially more cost-effective than crystals because of their lower fabrication temperature and no need for aftergrowth mechanical processing. This paper reports an investigation on Lu₂O₃:Yb and Lu_2xY_2(1−x)O₃:Yb scintillating ceramic samples fabricated by Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc. All samples show X-ray excited luminescence peaked at 370 nm. Ultrafast decay time of 1.1 ns was observed by using a microchannel plate-photomultiplier tube-based test bench at Caltech. Considering its intrinsic high density (9.4 g/cm³), Lu₂O₃:Yb ceramics are promising for future time of fight application for high energy physics experiments.