We report an over one-order-of magnitude improvement in the response time of conventional hydrothermal method-grown zinc oxide (ZnO) scintillator by introducing additional quenching channels via intentional indium ion doping. A 3-ps fluorescence decay time constant is achieved, therefore making it the fastest scintillator operating below 100 nm to date. Using this indium-doped ZnO, relative jitter between extreme ultraviolet free electron laser (EUV-FEL) probe and optical pump pulses is evaluated to be less than 3 ps. Moreover, pulses from these sources can be synchronized with 3-ps accuracy through in-situ observation of relative time difference in single-shot base.
High quality In-doped ZnO single crystal was grown using the hydrothermal method. The growth rate for both <0001> and <000-1> directions is about 80 m/day. The X-ray rocking curve (XRC) full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (0002) reflection is 24.2 arcsec. In order to make it possible to use this material as a scintillator for in situ imaging of soft X-ray laser with high spatial resolution, we prepared an In-doped ZnO wafer (9.0 mm x 9.0 mm x 0.75 mm) and mounted it on a vacuum flange. The decay time constant is evaluated to be 120 ps, therefore making it an ideal scintillator for in situ imaging device of soft X-ray laser with high spatial resolution. Furthermore, In-doped ZnO scintillator with such short decay time constant is suitable for high accuracy alignment and synchronization of ultrafast, short wavelength laser sources for pump-and-probe experiments.
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