Ionoluminescence and optical transmission investigation of ZnO(In) fast ceramic scintillator irradiated with swift heavy ions

Indium doped zinc oxide, ZnO(In), is a promising scintillation material for nanosecond-fast beam monitoring and counting heavy ions of MeV energy and above. We investigated the ionoluminescence and UV/Vis light transmission spectra that occur in ZnO(In) ceramic exposed to 4.8 MeV/u $^{48}$Ca and $^{197}$Au ions up to $5 \times 10^{12}$ and $2 \times 10^{11}$ ions/cm$^{2}$, respectively. Ionoluminescence and UV/Vis light transmission spectra were measured online as a function of fluence. Ionoluminescence is characterized by an intensive single emission band at 387 nm due to near-band-edge emission. We observed that the loss of the ionoluminescence intensity is more sensitive to the ion-beam-induced radiation damage than the loss of the optical transmission. The ionoluminescence intensity reduction as a function of ion fluence is described within the Birks–Black model. ZnO(In) exhibits higher radiation hardness and, thus, a longer lifetime than plastic scintillators used so far for fast-counting applications.