Compositionally Disordered Ceramic (Gd,Y,Tb,Ce)₃Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ Phosphor for an Effective Conversion of Isotopes’ Ionizing Radiation to Light

The Reviewer comment

Author response

Add references to the statement “Moreover growth of the……….in the crystalline mass.” Line -35.

Reference added.

Add references to the statement “The varying lattice composition ………. a specific application.” Line -53

i.e. 10.3390/photonics8030071 

New references have been added.

XRD is very important data. Add xrd pattern of all the composition used in this work (Table 1).

We agree with the Reviewer that this information is important, XDR patterns have been added.

Explain briefly the reverse co-precipitation method for the readers.

New appropriate sentences have been included in the text.

In experimental section include the precursors salts used for the synthesis of various samples.

They are included in the new sentences, briefly describing the inverse coprecipitation.

Figure 2, The emission is from Tb3+ at various Ce3+ concentration. The change is not obvious. mark the emission peak from Ce3+ . 

Ce3+ emission is characterized by a wide luminescence band overlapping Tb3+ narrow bands. In fact, it is observed between these narrow bands, as seen from Fig. 3 in the revised manuscript.

Figure 2 captions; include the composition of the samples used for collecting the data.

To avoid overloading the figures, we prefer to keep different colors and indexes of the Ce and Tb in the compound. As mentioned, 

Indexes X in the compound of Tb and Ce ions can be obtained by multiplying the numbers in the composition by a factor of three

in Table 1.

Figure 3 caption is not well written, rewrite the caption explaining what the data is representing

Figure 4 caption is rewritten in the revised manuscript.

The Reviewer comment

Author response

The authors should cite their another paper on Ce- and Tb-Doped GYAGG: DOI: 10.3390/app13053323

Thank you for your interest in our articles. We got a notification from the Editor about an overselfciting.  Due to this reason we prefer to  cite in in next publications.

Photographs of translucent ceramics could be included in the manuscript or Supplementary Materials. Ideally photographs of the samples before and after irradiation.

The photographs of the samples under different UV excitations are added to the revised manuscript.

Fig. 6 – was the reduction of TSL intensity observed after irradiation? If so, what was the reason for this reduction. If not, why is not the intensity normalized?

Yes, the TSL intensity was reduced after irradiation. 

Electrons of selected energy maydamage the lattice due to the displacement of atoms

. Perhaps some of these knocked-out atoms diffuse and fill lattice defects created during the samples preparation. This observation should be studied carefully and will be the subject of a separate publication.  

The application of the studied material as a photon engine has not yet been demonstrated to be feasible and therefore such conclusions should be removed from the manuscript.

This is removed from the conclusion chapter in the discussion part.

Minor English corrections are required

The manuscript has been checked by the language carrier.

The Reviewer comment

Author response

There are many English grammatical and usage mistakes. I suggest it should be revised by a native English speaker thoroughly.

The manuscript has been checked by the language carrier.

In Materials and Methods: I suggest the preparation of powders and ceramics (milling, forming, and sintering) should be described briefly or added in the supplementary materials.

New sentences, which are devoted to the preparation of powders, have been added in the revised manuscript.

Line 154: I suggest the band contributed from Ce or Tb should be marked in XRL pattern

A new sentence explains that the spectrum is a superposition of Ce³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ion bands: a wide Ce³⁺ interconfiguration luminescence overlaps narrow intraconfiguration luminescence bands of Tb³⁺ ions.

The explanation and discussion of Figure 6 should be complemented. The physical meanings in the differences of TSL should be explained in detail, and why chose samples 4 and 5?

It is Figure 7 in the revised manuscript.  The most important information from the figure is that  the TSL intensity was reduced after irradiation. Electrons of selected energy may damage the lattice due to the displacement of atoms. Perhaps some of these knocked-out atoms diffuse and fill lattice defects created during the samples preparation. This observation should be studied carefully and will be the subject of a separate publication.  

The explanation and discussion of Figure 7 should be complemented. Why there are significant differences between (a) and (b)? I suggest the author should explain why the sample with Ce=0.05 exhibited a different behavior.

It is Figure 8 in the revised manuscript. A new sentence with the requested comment is included.

Why was Table 2 added to the manuscript? The relationship between Table 2 and this study should be explained and discussed.

This table demonstrates that activities and energy deposits from the most popular isotopes suitable for alpha- and beta-voltaics are comparable with the irradiation conditions used in the article. An appropriate comment is included in the article.