β-Ga2O3:Ce as a fast scintillator: An unclear role of cerium

Abstract β-Ga 2 O 3 and β-Ga 2 O 3 :Ce crystals have been grown by the Czochralski method and their scintillation properties have been studied by means of pulse height, radioluminescence and scintillation time profile measurements. It is shown that although the scintillation of β-Ga 2 O 3 :Ce is related to intrinsic excitonic emission, the doping with Ce improves some characteristics of the material. The prominent samples of β-Ga 2 O 3 :Ce display fast 6 ns (40%) scintillation, with total light yields of about 5000 ph/MeV.