Ceramic scintillator body and scintillation device
A polycrystalline ceramic scintillator body includes a ceramic scintillating material comprising an oxide of gadolinium (Gd) and a second rare earth element (Re). The ceramic scintillating material has a composition, expressed in terms of molar percentage of oxide constituents, that includes greater than fifty-five percent (55%) Gd 2 O 3 and a minority percentage Of Re 2 O 3 . The ceramic scintillating material includes an activator.
1. A scintillation device comprising:
a polycrystalline ceramic scintillator body, comprising:
a ceramic scintillating material comprising Gd 2 O 3 and Re 2 O 3 , where Re is a second rare earth element distinct from Gd, the ceramic scintillating material having a composition, expressed in terms of molar percentage of oxide constituents, including greater than sixty-six percent (66%) Gd 2 O 3 and a minority percentage of Re 2 O 3 , wherein the ceramic scintillating material includes an activator that comprises praseodymium.
2. The scintillation device of claim 1 , wherein Re 2 O 3 comprises Lu 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 , or La 2 O 3 .
3. The scintillation device of claim 1 , wherein the activator comprises less than or eaqual to five percent of the composition based on molar percentage.
4. The scintillation device of claim 3 , wherein the activator comprises less than or equal to two percent of the composition based on molar percentage.
5. The scintillation device of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic scintillating material includes more than one second rare earth elements that are distinct from Gd.
6. The scintillation device of claim 1 wherein the scintillator body is characterized by a decay time of less than 1 ms.
7. The scintillation device of claim 6 , wherein the scintillator body is characterized by a decay time of less than or equal to approximately 0.5 ms.
8. The scintillation device of claim 7 , wherein the scintillator body is characterized by a decay time of less than or equal to approximately 0.1 ms.
9. The scintillation device of claim 1 , wherein the scintillator body is characterized by a density of at least 99.9% of theoretical density.
10. The scintillation device of claim 1 , wherein the composition of the ceramic scintillating material, expressed in terms of molar percentage of oxide constituents, includes at least five percent (5%) Re 2 O 3 .
11. A ceramic scintillating powder comprising a ceramic scintillating material comprising Gd 2 O 3 and Re 2 O 3 , where Re is a second rare earth element distinct from Gd, the ceramic scintillating material having a composition including, expressed in terms of molar percentage of oxide constituents, greater than sixty-six percent (66%) Gd 2 O 3 and a minority percentage of Re 2 O 3 , wherein the ceramic scintillating material includes an activator comprising praseodymium.
12. The ceramic scintillating powder of claim 11 , wherein the ceramic scintillating material comprises a plurality of substantially spherical particles and wherein at least ninety percent of the particles are characterized by a particle size of from approximately 50 nm to approximately 250 nm.
13. The ceramic scintillating powder of claim 12 , wherein at least ninety percent of the particles are characterized by a particle size of from approximately 66 nm to approximately 220 nm.
14. A computed-tomography (CT) apparatus comprising:
an array of scintillating devices, wherein each of the scintillating devices includes a polycrystalline ceramic scintillator body comprising:
a ceramic scintillating material comprising Gd 2 O 3 and Re 2 O 3 , where Re is a second rare earth element distinct from Gd, the ceramic scintillating material having a composition, expressed in terms of molar percentage of oxide constituents, including greater than sixty-six percent (66%) Gd 2 O 3 and a minority percentage of Re 2 O 3 ;
wherein the ceramic scintillating material includes an activator comprising praseodymium.
15. The scintillation device of claim 14 , wherein the scintillator body is characterized by a decay time of less than or equal to approximately 1 ms.
16. The scintillation device of claim 14 , wherein the scintillator body is characterized by a decay time of less than or equal to approximately 0.1 ms.