Scintillator operation and control
A method for reducing scintillator afterglow. Methods for reducing afterglow include conditioning a scintillator by exposing it to high flux densities of ionizing radiation. One technique includes operating an x-ray tube at elevated amperage.
1. A method of operating a scintillation device comprising:
conditioning a scintillator by applying current to a source to directly irradiate the scintillator at a first flux; and
subsequently adjusting the current to irradiate the scintillator at a second flux that is greater than zero and less than or equal to 20% of the first flux.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scintillation device comprises an alkali halide scintillator and a photodetector.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source comprises at least one x-ray tube.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator comprises cesium iodide.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the scintillator comprises a single crystal or a polycrystalline structure.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator comprises cesium iodide and a thallium activator.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising isolating the source for a period of time.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator is irradiated at the first flux for greater than or equal to one minute.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator is irradiated at the first flux for greater than or equal to five minutes.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator is irradiated at the first flux for greater than thirty minutes.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising reducing the resulting afterglow of the scintillator by at least 30 percent.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises single photon emission computed tomography, computed tomography, or x-ray imaging.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising repeating the method after the device has been powered down for more than 8 hours.
14. The method of claim 1 further comprising triggering an indicator to prompt repetition of the method.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising practicing the method on a luggage scanner, medical scanner, or geotechnical scanner.
16. A computer executable medium encoded with software that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out a process for operating a scintillation device, the process comprising:
conditioning a scintillator by applying current to a source to directly irradiate the scintillator at a first flux; and
subsequently adjusting the current to irradiate the scintillator at a second flux that is greater than zero and less than or equal to 20% of the first flux.