On the Quenching Mechanism of Ce, Tb Luminescence and Scintillation in Compositionally Disordered (Gd, Y, Yb)3Al2Ga3O12 Garnet Ceramics

Two series of (Gd, Y, Yb)3Al2Ga3O12 quintuple compounds with a garnet structure and solely doped with Ce and Tb were prepared in the form of ceramics by sintering in oxygen at 1600 °C for two hours and studied for the interaction of activator ions with ytterbium ions entering the matrix. It was shown that the photoluminescence and scintillation of Ce3+ ions are completely suppressed, predominantly by tunneling ionization through the charge transfer state (CTS) of the Ce4+-Yb2+ ions. The photoluminescence of Tb3+ ions is quenched in the presence of ytterbium, but not completely due to the poor resonance conditions of Tb3+ intraconfiguration transitions and the CTS of the single Yb3+ and the CTS of Ce4+-Yb2+ ions. The scintillation in the visible range of both Ce3+- and Tb3+-doped samples is intensely quenched as well, which indicates strong competition from Yb3+ ions to activators in interaction with the Gd substrate.