LuAG

LuAG, short for lutetium aluminum garnet, is a cubic crystal compound with the formula Lu3Al5O12. It belongs to the garnet family of oxides and crystallizes in the cubic space group Ia-3d. In the crystal structure, lutetium ions occupy the dodecahedral sites, while aluminum ions occupy the octahedral and tetrahedral sites coordinated by oxygen to form the garnet framework.

LuAG is dense and optically transparent in the visible and near-infrared, with a high refractive index. Its density is about 7.3–7.4 g/cm3 and it has a wide bandgap, making it chemically and thermally robust.

Doping with Ce3+ yields LuAG:Ce, a fast scintillator emitting around 550 nm with a decay time on the order of 60–70 ns, suitable for gamma-ray detection. Other dopants such as Nd3+ or Er3+ have been explored to extend laser performance or to create other emission wavelengths; LuAG can therefore serve as a laser host material as well.

LuAG can be produced as single crystals by the Czochralski method or as dense transparent ceramics through hot isostatic pressing or sintering.

Applications of LuAG include its use as a scintillator material for medical imaging (PET, CT), radiation detection, and high-energy physics calorimetry; and as a laser host (for example Nd:LuAG, Er:LuAG) for solid-state lasers.

Compared with YAG, LuAG offers higher density and effective atomic number, enhancing gamma-ray stopping power, but its light yield and processing cost differ. LuAG remains an active area of study for both scintillation and laser applications.