Performance of Eu3+-doped Garnet Scintillator–Silicon Photodiode Systems for Nuclear Photovoltaic Battery Applications

The X-ray-induced power generation characteristics of Eu 3+ -doped Y 3 Al 5 O 12 (YAG), Gd 3 Al 2 Ga 3 O 12 (GAGG), and Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 (LuAG) single crystal scintillators with different Eu concentrations were evaluated.The generated electrical power densities were then compared with the scintillation light yields and the integrated intensities of scintillation spectra in the 550-690 nm range.Although the LuAG:Eu samples exhibited lower light yields than the YAG:Eu and GAGG:Eu samples, they showed comparable or higher generated power densities owing to their higher effective atomic number (Z eff = 64), which enhances photoelectric absorption efficiency.A good correlation was observed between the power densities and the integrated intensities of scintillation spectra, whereas the relationship between the light yields and integrated intensities was less significant owing to the influence of afterglow and variations in photoelectric absorption.