Photoluminescence nonlinearity and picosecond transient absorption in an LYSO:Ce scintillator excited by a 266 nm ultraviolet laser

Lutetium–yttrium oxyorthosilicate doped with cerium (LYSO:Ce) is a widely used scintillator, and the study of its nonlinear behavior under high excitation density is very significant owing to its direct influence on radiation measurements. Using a 266 nm ultraviolet laser to excite an LYSO:Ce crystal, the relationship between the photoluminescence (PL) light yield and excitation density was studied by Z scan experiments. The excitation threshold of the LYSO:Ce was obtained, which is about 2.3 J cm(−3). Picosecond transient absorption of LYSO:Ce at 800 nm was obtained and used to analyze the dynamic process of carriers. The physical mechanism behind the nonlinearity was discussed and analyzed using the Förster dipole–dipole interaction model, and the interaction characteristic radius was obtained by fitting. This work can help us understand the nonlinearity phenomenon in scintillators and provide references for related radiation detection applications.