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Scandium and aluminum substitution and energy transfer processes in the undoped and Ce-doped Y3ScxAl5−xO12 scintillation crystals

V. Laguta1,*, J. Pejchal1, V. Babin1, A. Beitlerova1, Yu. Zagorodniy2, J. Jezek1,3, D. Sedmidubsky3, A. Resetic4, and M. Nikl1

  • *Contact author: laguta@fzu.cz
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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 045201 – Published 17 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/png3-xnt7

Abstract

The structural and scintillation properties of pure and Ce-doped Y3ScxAl5−xO12 (x=0, 0.05, 1.16, and 2) crystals were systematically investigated. High-resolution Sc45 and Al27 magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that Sc3+ ions predominantly occupy octahedral sites, effectively replacing Al3+ ions, while antisite Sc at Y dodecahedral positions remains below 0.2 at.%. Sc incorporation into Y3Al5O12 induces strong exciton emission at 320–324 nm, nearly 10 times higher than that of reference Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal, even at low Sc concentrations (5 at.%). Ce3+ doping introduces characteristic 5d1→4f emission at 518 nm, accelerates scintillation decay, and in combination with Mg2+ codoping, promotes the formation of Ce4+ ions that enable a fast radiative de-excitation pathway. Y3Sc2Al3O12: Ce exhibits a maximum scintillation light yield of 80–84% relative to BGO with a mean decay time of 85–110 ns. Thermostimulated liminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance studies indicate that holes are mainly trapped at oxygen ions near Sc ions (O− centers), while electrons are primarily localized at Sc antisite ions near oxygen vacancies (Sc2+–VO centers), affecting scintillation kinetics. Density functional theory calculations confirm that Sc3+ at the dodecahedral site forms a deep electron trap. These results highlight the key role of Sc and Ce in tuning emission, decay dynamics, and defect-mediated processes in Sc-admixed multicomponent garnet scintillators.

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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 045201– Published 17 April, 2026
  • Received 18 December 2025
  • Accepted 24 March 2026
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