The response of a radiation resistant ceramic scintillator (Al2O3:Cr) to low energy ions (0-60 keV).

ABSTRACT

This work extends a previous study on ionoluminescence of a radiation-hard ceramic scintillator, Al(2)O(3)Cr, to ions accelerated to keV energies [K. J. McCarthy et al., J. Nucl. Mater. 321, 78 (2003)]. It is motivated by the identification of this material as a promising candidate for use in the fast-ion-loss detector for ITER [for the range of thermal (low energy) and suprathermal ions]. In the paper we quantify and compare its ionoluminescence with that of some common luminescent materials (YAGCe and ruby) when irradiated by H(+) ions accelerated to < or = 60 keV using a purpose built laboratory setup. Next, studies are made on the ceramic to quantify its response as a function of incident ion mass, i.e., to He(+). For this, the absolute luminosities of the material are estimated in terms of the number of photons emitted per incident ion as a function of energy. Moreover, the radiation hardness and postirradiation recovery of the ceramic are investigated. Finally, from the studies it can be concluded that the ceramic ruby is a good candidate for detecting low energy ions as long as its temporal response (approximately several milliseconds) is not a constraint for specific ion measurements.