Fine-grained Ce,Y:SrHfO3 Scintillation Ceramics Fabricated by Hot Isostatic Pressing

doi:10.15541/jim20210059

Abstract

Abstract:

Ce:SrHfO₃ ceramics possess a strong stopping power to high-energy rays due to their high density and high effective atomic number. However, it is difficult to obtain transparent Ce:SrHfO₃ ceramics via traditional sintering method because of its orthogonal structure. In this work, Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics were prepared by long-time vacuum sintering and short-time vacuum pre-sintering combined with hot isostatic pressing (HIP). The Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ powders with a pure phase and a mean particle size of 152 nm were prepared by calcining at 1200 ℃ for 8 h using metal oxides and carbonates. The Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics vacuum-sintered at 1800 ℃ for 20 h are opaque with an average grain size of 28.6 μm, while those prepared by the two-step sintering method show good optical transmittance. The evolution of the microstructure in the process of densification was analyzed in detail, and the influence of the pre-sintering temperature on the density, microstructure and optical transparency of Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics was studied. The Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics pre-sintered at 1500 ℃ for 2 h with HIP post-treatment at 1800 ℃ for 3 h have the highest in-line transmittance of 21.6% at 800 nm with a far smaller average grain size of 3.4 μm. Under X-ray excitation, the Ce³⁺ 5d-4f emission of Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics was observed at 400 nm, and the XEL integral intensity is 3.3 times higher than that of Bi₄Ce₃O₁₂ (BGO) crystals. The light yield of the Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics is approximately 3700 ph/MeV with the shaping time of 1 μs. Good optical quality and scintillation performance of Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics may expand the application range and potential in the field of scintillation detection.

Key words: Ce, Y:SrHfO₃ ceramics, hot isostatic pressing, microstructure, grain refinement, scintillation properties

CLC Number:

TQ174

ZHU Danyang, QIAN Kang, CHEN Xiaopu, HU Zewang, LIU Xin, LI Xiaoying, PAN Yubai, MIHÓKOVÁ Eva, NIKL Martin, LI Jiang. Fine-grained Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ Scintillation Ceramics Fabricated by Hot Isostatic Pressing[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2021, 36(10): 1118-1124.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 FESEM micrographs of the starting powders ((a) HfO2, (b) SrCO3, (c) CeO2, (d) Y2O3, (e) ball-milled powder mixture, (f) Ce,Y:SrHfO3 powder calcined at 1200 ℃ for 8 h), (g) XRD patterns of the calcined powder, and (h) FESEM micrograph of the Ce,Y:SrHfO3 ceramics fabricated by vacuum sintering

Fig. 2 FESEM images of the thermally etched surfaces of the Ce/Y:SrHfO3 ceramics pre-sintered at different temperatures for 2 h (a) 1450 ℃; (b) 1500 ℃; (c) 1550 ℃; (d) 1600 ℃; (e) 1650 ℃; (f) Relative densities and average grain sizes of the Ce,Y:SrHfO3 ceramics with different pre-sintering temperatures

Fig. 3 (a) Photograph of the Ce,Y:SrHfO3 ceramics vacuum- sintered at different temperatures combined with the HIP post- treatment and (b) in-line transmittance of the HIP post-treated Ce,Y:SrHfO3 ceramics (1 mm thickness) pre-sintered at 1500 and 1550 ℃, respectively

Fig. 4 FESEM micrographs of (a) thermally etched surfaces and (b) fractured surfaces of HIP post-treated Ce,Y:SrHfO3 ceramics pre-sintered at 1500 ℃

Fig. 5 (a) XEL spectra and (b) pulse height spectrum of the HIP post-treated Ce,Y:SrHfO3 ceramics pre-sintered at 1550 ℃

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Fine-grained Ce,Y:SrHfO₃ Scintillation Ceramics Fabricated by Hot Isostatic Pressing

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