Abstract
Lutetium yttrium orthoaluminate perovskite [Lu0.7Y0.3AlO3 (LuYAP)] crystals show great potential as fast response and high-efficiency scintillators as an alternative to LuAlO3 (LuAP) crystals. This paper aims to offer a complete analysis of the vibrational modes of the LuYAP crystal by means of polarized Raman spectroscopy in the temperature range of 20-290 K and confronting the experimental results with numerical methods in order to characterize the crystal structure. Furthermore, an interpretation of the data in terms of vibrating molecular structures is suggested and the results are successfully confronted with the vibrational modes of similar perovskite crystals. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.