Development of Gd₃Ga₃Al₂O₁₂:Ce single crystal scintillator and USB based portable gamma-ray spectrometer

Crack-free single crystals of Ce doped Gd₃Ga₃Al₂O₁₂ have been grown in Ar ambient using the Czochralski technique. These crystals were investigated with a view to improve the scintillation properties by a suitable post-growth annealing treatment. The Gd₃Ga₃Al₂O₁₂:Ce crystal scintillators having improved performances were coupled to a PMT to develop a portable gamma-ray spectrometer that could be powered from a USB port of a laptop. The scintillator crystal was also coupled to photodiodes and pulse height characteristics were measured for gamma-rays and charged particles in order to explore the possibility of fabricating detectors with a compact geometry. (author)