title: Synthesis and characterization of a BaGdF5:Tb glass ceramic as a nanocomposite scintillator for x-ray imaging.
abstract: 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 BaGdF5: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 GdF3 in the raw materials, which served as a nucleation agent. A 26% improvement in light output was observed from a BaGdF5:Tb glass ceramic with addition of GdF3.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Gyuhyon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Struebing
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Summers
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Naresh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thadhani
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shedlock
authors.forename: Josh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Star-Lack
authors.forename: Zhitao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D001464:Barium / Q000737:chemistry*; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000737:chemistry*; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D013725:Terbium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D013725:Terbium; C049037:aluminosilicate; D001464:Barium; C023506:Glass ceramics; D005682:Gadolinium; D005459:Fluorides