Lutetium oxide-based transparent ceramic scintillators

1. A transparent ceramic of sintered nanoparticles, the transparent ceramic comprising: gadolinium lutetium oxide doped with europium having a chemical composition (Lu 1-x Gd x ) 2-Y Eu Y O 3 ,

wherein X is any value within a range from about 0.05 to about 0.45,

wherein Y is any value within a range from about 0.01 to about 0.2,

wherein the transparent ceramic exhibits a transparency characterized by a scatter coefficient of less than about 10%/cm, and

wherein the transparent ceramic excludes monoclinic structures.

2. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparent ceramic is phase-pure.

3. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparent ceramic consists of a cubic crystal grain lattice.

4. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by a density of at least about 95%.

5. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 ,

wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by having substantially no residual porosity,

wherein the transparent ceramic consists essentially of grain structures being characterized by a cubic phase.

6. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by a thickness from about 20 μm to about 1000 μm and a diameter from about 0.2 cm to about 5 cm.

7. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by a thickness from about 1 mm to about 10 mm and a diameter from about 1 cm to about 35 cm.

8. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparent ceramic exhibits a transparency characterized by a scatter coefficient of less than about 5%/cm.

9. A method of forming the transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , the method comprising:

sintering powdered nanoparticles under a vacuum and at a temperature below a cubic-to-monoclinic phase temperature of the powdered nanoparticles until the sintered nanoparticles achieve a density of at least about 95%; and

pressurizing the sintered nanoparticles to a pressure of about 200 MPa in an atmosphere comprising an inert gas and using a hot-isostatic-pressing (HIP) process,

wherein the HIP process comprises heating the sintered nanoparticles to a temperature in a range from about 1750 C to about 1900 C, and

wherein the powdered nanoparticles comprise:

europium;

lutetium; and

gadolinium.

10. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transparency is further characterized by a transmittance greater than about 75%.

11. A transparent ceramic scintillator of sintered nanoparticles, comprising:

a body comprising sintered nanoparticles comprising: gadolinium lutetium oxide doped with a rare earth activator (RE) having a chemical composition (Lu 1-x Gd x ) 2-Y RE Y O 3 ,

wherein RE is selected from the group consisting of: Sm, Eu, Tb, and Dy,

wherein X is any value within a range from about 0.05 to about 0.45, and

wherein Y is any value within a range from about 0.01 to about 0.2,

wherein the transparent ceramic exhibits a transparency characterized by a scatter coefficient of less than about 10%/cm, and

wherein the transparent ceramic excludes monoclinic structures.

12. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 ,

wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by having substantially no residual porosity,

wherein the transparent ceramic consists essentially of a cubic phase.

13. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by a thickness from about 20 μm to about 1000 μm and a diameter from about 0.2 cm to about 5 cm.

14. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , wherein the transparent ceramic is characterized by a thickness from about 1 mm to about 10 mm and a diameter from about 1 cm to about 35 cm.

15. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , wherein the transparent ceramic exhibits a transparency characterized by a scatter coefficient of less than about 5%/cm.

16. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , wherein the RE is selected from the group consisting of: Sm and Dy.

17. A method of forming the transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , comprising:

sintering powdered nanoparticles under a vacuum at a temperature below a cubic-to-monoclinic phase temperature of the powdered nanoparticles until the sintered nanoparticles achieve a density of at least about 95%; and

pressurizing the sintered nanoparticles to a pressure of about 200 MPa in an atmosphere comprising an inert gas and using a hot-isostatic-pressing (HIP) process,

wherein the HIP process comprises heating the sintered nanoparticles to a temperature in a range from about 1750 C to about 1900 C, and

wherein the powdered nanoparticles comprise:

RE;

Lu; and

Gd.

18. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , wherein the transparent ceramic is substantially devoid of residual porosity.

19. The transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 , wherein the RE comprises at least two of the: Sm, Eu, Tb, and Dy.

20. A method, comprising:

using the transparent ceramic as recited in claim 11 to generate a radiographic image, wherein the transparent ceramic is an optical component of an imaging device selected from:

a synchrotron imaging apparatus;

an x-ray computed tomography apparatus; and

an x-ray imaging device.