Transparent ceramic scintillators for gamma-ray spectroscopy and radiography
Transparent ceramics have become available in useful sizes for a variety of applications within the past 15 years thanks to improved understanding of sintering phenomena on the nanoscale.1,2 While traditional ceramics may comprise single or multiple crystalline and amorphous mineral phases and are typically translucent or opaque to light, modern optically transparent ceramics are fully dense monoliths of micron-scale (or smaller) crystallites, in most cases formed from pure-phase cubic crystal structures. Fabrication of transparent ceramics begins with high-purity ceramic nanopowders, which are consolidated into a ‘green body’ by pressing or casting. The green body is sintered to near-full density, and the residual porosity is removed by processing the samples in a pressure vessel with high-pressure argon gas (hot isostatic pressing). A few commercial transparent ceramics are Lumicera lenses (a barium-based oxide made by Murata Mfg.), laser gain media—Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) is available from Konoshima—and transparent armor (aluminum oxynitride and spinel are available from Surmet and other vendors). As the manufacturing processes for transparent ceramics become better understood, industrial optical uses for these transparent materials with excellent mechanical robustness are likely to expand.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 1117998
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-441051
- Journal Information:
- SPIE Newsroom, Vol. 2010; ISSN 1818-2259
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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