Infrared scintillation of Yb(10%):YAG crystal

Ytterbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnets (Yb:YAG) are known as IR laser crystals. Previously, we have shown that they are also fast scintillators in the near UV region. In this work we report on the measurements of IR scintillation properties of Yb(10%):YAG crystal. It emits at room temperature at 1.03 μm with a light yield of (79±8)×103 photons/MeV and a decay time of 1.9 ms when excited by 90 keV electrons. With decreasing temperature both light yield and decay time decrease.