Abstract:

Europium-doped lutetium oxide （Lu₂O₃∶Eu） transparent ceramics exhibit high density （9.4 g/cm³） and strong stopping power for MeV-level X-rays， making them highly promising for applications such as industrial non-destructive testing. However， the relatively large ionic radius of Eu³⁺ tends to induce grain boundary segregation and residual porosity， leading to scattering losses. Meanwhile， the presence of deep-level traps in the Lu₂O₃ matrix results in significant afterglow， limiting their application in high-frequency imaging. In this study， Yb₂O₃ was introduced as a dual-functional sintering aid and energy-level regulator， and （Lu_0.95-xYb?Eu_0.05）₂O₃ （x=0， 0.01， 0.03， 0.05， 0.10） transparent ceramics were fabricated via vacuum sintering combined with hot isostatic pressing. The results show that when the Yb³⁺ content is 10%（atomic percentage）， the in-line transmittance of the sample at 611 nm increases from 60% to 74%. Spectroscopic analysis confirms a cooperative energy transfer process from Eu³⁺ to Yb³⁺. Although this process induces partial luminescence quenching， it introduces new non-radiative relaxation channels that compete with trap capture， reducing the afterglow intensity by nearly two orders of magnitude and significantly suppressing the afterglow.

Key words: Lu₂O₃∶Eu, scintillator, transparent ceramics, sintering aid, Yb₂O₃