Transparent BaCl(sub 2}:Eu{sup 2+} glass scintillator.
Scintillators are the backbone of high-energy radiation detection devices. Most scintillators are based on inorganic crystals that have applications in medical radiography, nuclear medicine, security inspection, dosimetry, and high-energy physics. In this paper, we present a new type of scintillator that is based on glass ceramics (composites of glasses and crystals). These scintillators are made from Eu{sup 2+}-activated fluorozirconate glasses that are co-doped with Ba{sup 2+}, La{sup 3+}, Al{sup 3+}, Na{sup +}, and Cl{sup -}. Subsequent heat treatment of the glasses forms BaCl{sub 2} nano-crystals (10-20 nm in size) that are embedded in the glass matrix. The resulting scintillators are transparent, efficient, inexpensive to fabricate, and easy to scale up. The physical structure and x-ray imaging performance of these glass-ceramic scintillators are presented, and an application of these materials to micro-computed tomography is demonstrated. Our study suggests that these glass-ceramic scintillators have high potential for medical x-ray imaging.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- SC; NIH
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 947971
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/ET/CP-55404
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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