The different image types that can be specified are (from the Imagick::getImageType doc page):
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_UNDEFINED
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_BILEVEL
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_GRAYSCALE
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_GRAYSCALEMATTE
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_PALETTE
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_PALETTEMATTE
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_TRUECOLOR
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_TRUECOLORMATTE
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_COLORSEPARATION
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_COLORSEPARATIONMATTE
    Imagick::IMGTYPE_OPTIMIZE
The MATTE variants are equivalent to GrayscaleAlpha, etc. in the ImageMagick command line. If you're making something grayscale, I would recommend using IMGTYPE_GRAYSCALEMATTE.
<?php
$im->setImageType(Imagick::IMGTYPE_GRAYSCALEMATTE);
?>