Development of Ceramic Scintillators for High Speed, Ultra-High Resolution X-Ray Imaging Detectors

X-Ray microscopy offers rich internal information of objects under study due to the highly penetrative nature of x-rays. Significant improvements in laboratory x-ray sources, synchrotrons and detector technologies in the past few years have pushed the frontiers of spatial and time resolution enabling time-lapse imaging of structures in the micron scale. Xradia, a US based small business founded in 2000 that has been on the forefront of developing laboratory and synchrotron based 3D x-ray imaging systems, proposes to develop and commercialize thin, Eu doped Lu2O3 scintillators. These scintillators will have excellent stopping power and light yield to address the stringent requirements of next generation of detectors (utilizing high-density scintillators coupled to visible light objectives and CCD cameras) for high-speed, sub-micron x- ray imaging for important applications in the fields of energy generation and storage, semiconductors, security, and many other areas. Fast, high-resolution microscopy can potentially help us answer questions about optimizing the high-speed fuel injection process to improve fuel efficiency and the reduction of pollutants. It can help us understand the time evolution of structural damage to polygranular graphite under irradiation in nuclear reactors. It may also provide insights into foam growth and cell wall stabilization in metallic foams that have many interesting applications in, for example, automotive industry due to their light weight, high strength and stiffness helping improving fuel efficiency, reducing use of metals to improve cost effectiveness and enabling more efficient recycling that reduces environmental damage. Xradia will collaborate with Prof. Sarins pioneering research group at Boston University to optimize the process for the fabrication of thin film scintillation screens using a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technique based on magnetron sputtering. The PVD process is advantageious since it is scalable and offers a viable, cost effective, commercial solutions for the production of defect free, high quality scintillators with high yield. One commercialization pathway important to DoE facilities will be the development of scintillation screens, or completely integrated x-ray detector systems targeted for synchrotron and other OEM applications and another will be through Xradias VersaXRM and UltraXRM 3D CT systems. The research product has a straightforward commercialization pathway and, as envisioned, will be the critical component of future x-ray microscopes marketed by Xradia, bringing the benefits to market almost immediately.