Synthesis and characterization of a BaGdF sub(5):Tb glass ceramic as a nanocomposite scintillator for x-ray imaging

• Published in: Nanotechnology 2016-05, Vol.27 (20), p.205203-205210
• Main Authors: Lee, Gyuhyon, Struebing, Christian, Wagner, Brent, Summers, Christopher, Ding, Yong, Bryant, Alex, Thadhani, Naresh, Shedlock, Daniel, Star-Lack, Josh, Kang, Zhitao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Crystal structure; Glass; Glass ceramics; Imaging; Nanocomposites; Nanocrystals; Scintillation; Tuning
• ISSN: 0957-4484; 1361-6528
• DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/27/20/205203

Transparent glass ceramics with embedded light-emitting nanocrystals show great potential as low-cost nanocomposite scintillators in comparison to single crystal and transparent ceramic scintillators. In this study, cubic structure BaGdF sub(5):Tb nanocrystals embedded in an aluminosilicate glass matrix are reported for potential high performance MeV imaging applications. Scintillator samples with systematically varied compositions were prepared by a simple conventional melt-quenching method followed by annealing. Optical, structural and scintillation properties were characterized to guide the design and optimization of selected material systems, aiming at the development of a system with higher crystal volume and larger crystal size for improved luminosity. It is observed that enhanced scintillation performance was achieved by tuning the glass matrix composition and using GdF sub(3) in the raw materials, which served as a nucleation agent. A 26% improvement in light output was observed from a BaGdF sub(5):Tb glass ceramic with addition of GdF sub(3).