Luminescence and scintillation properties of LYSO:Ce powder via Co-precipitation method for low dose gamma radiation

Cerium-doped lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO:Ce) powders were synthesized using the co-precipitation method. The influence of sintering temperature on the crystallization and luminescence characteristics of LYSO:Ce powders was investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). The XRD measurements indicate that the crystallization of LYSO:Ce powders was affected by sintering temperature. PL results show that with the increase of sintering temperature, LYSO:Ce samples have better luminescence properties. A dosimeter was also fabricated using LYSO:Ce powders with 0.3 mol% Ce doping concentration for an optimum result. Radioluminescence properties of the radiation dosimeter were studied using calibrated 60Co gamma sources in the dose range from 232.66 to 1022.26 mGy. The results show that the dosimeter response under γ-rays irradiation has a certain linear response and stability, indicating its potential applications in remote radiotherapy and real-time radiation monitoring. •LYSO:Ce crystal powder as scintillitor material was synthesized by co-precipitation method.•LYSO:Ce with different sintering temperature has been systematically investigated.•A dosimeter was made with the optimal LYSO:Ce crystal powder for low dose gamma radiation.