Efficient high-resolution hard x-ray imaging with transparent Lu2O3:Eu scintillator thin films

Zsolt Marton; Stuart R. Miller; Charles Brecher; Peter Kenesei; Matthew D. Moore; Russell Woods; Jonathan D Almer; Antonino Miceli; Vivek V. Nagarkar

doi:10.1117/12.2195580

9 September 2015 Efficient high-resolution hard x-ray imaging with transparent Lu₂O₃:Eu scintillator thin films

Zsolt Marton, Stuart R. Miller, Charles Brecher, Peter Kenesei, Matthew D. Moore, Russell Woods, Jonathan D Almer, Antonino Miceli, Vivek V. Nagarkar

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9594, Medical Applications of Radiation Detectors V; 95940E (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2195580
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We have developed microstructured Lu₂O₃:Eu scintillator films that provide spatial resolution on the order of micrometers for hard X-ray imaging. In addition to their outstanding resolution, Lu2O3:Eu films also exhibits both high absorption efficiency for 20 to 100 keV X-rays, and bright 610 nm emission whose intensity rivals that of the brightest known scintillators. At present, high spatial resolution of such a magnitude is achieved using ultra-thin scintillators measuring only about 1 to 5 μm in thickness, which limits absorption efficiency to ~3% for 12 keV X-rays and less than 0.1% for 20 to 100 keV X-rays; this results in excessive measurement time and exposure to the specimen. But the absorption efficiency of Lu2O3:Eu (99.9% @12 keV and 30% @ 70 keV) is much greater, significantly decreasing measurement time and radiation exposure. Our Lu₂O₃:Eu scintillator material, fabricated by our electron-beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) process, combines superior density of 9.5 g/cm³, a microcolumnar structure for higher spatial resolution, and a bright emission (48000 photons/MeV) whose wavelength is an ideal match for the underlying CCD detector array. We grew thin films of this material on a variety of matching substrates, measuring some 5–10μm in thickness and covering areas up to 1 x 1 cm², which can be a suitable basis for microtomography, digital radiography as well as CT and hard X-ray Micro-Tomography (XMT). The microstructure and optical transparency of such screens was optimized, and their imaging performance was evaluated in the Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source. Spatial resolution and efficiency were also characterized.

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Zsolt Marton, Stuart R. Miller, Charles Brecher, Peter Kenesei, Matthew D. Moore, Russell Woods, Jonathan D Almer, Antonino Miceli, and Vivek V. Nagarkar "Efficient high-resolution hard x-ray imaging with transparent Lu₂O₃:Eu scintillator thin films", Proc. SPIE 9594, Medical Applications of Radiation Detectors V, 95940E (9 September 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2195580

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