Determination of different garnet films characteristics prepared via sol-gel spin or dip-coatings techniques

In order to convert high-energy radiation, such as gamma or X-rays, into a visible light, a certain type of material is needed. Such compounds are usually referred to as scintillators. Over the years many different candidates to fit the requirements were examined. However, compounds with garnet structure have attracted a particularly large amount of attention. Cerium doped yttrium and lutetium aluminum garnets (YAG:Ce, LuAG:Ce), have high density, high thermal stability, a rather intensive emission/excitation and high quantum efficiency which are needed for a good scintillator. However, further optimization and improvement is still needed especially on the shortening of the decay time. One way to approach this problem is to alloy the aforementioned compounds with different elements, such as boron or magnesium.