Engineering High Resolution Scintillator for Next-Generation High Frame Rate Detectors

Recent developments in synchrotron radiation sources have generated an urgent need for high performance X-ray detectors. While new imaging devices have been developed that employ high performance CCD sensors, what is currently lacking in these detectors is an adequate X-ray-to-light converter that will provide high performance in terms of spatial resolution, high efficiency and, perhaps most importantly, fast decay of the scintillation light in order to allow high-speed image acquisition. We propose to develop a novel high-speed scintillator through band gap engineering of the well-known microcolumnar CsI:Tl screens that are common in advanced X-ray imaging systems. The enhanced, co-doped CsI:Tl will provide all of the benefits of conventional CsI:Tl, but with a 10 to 100 fold reduction in afterglow and negligible hysteresis. The microcolumnar form of the co-doped CsI scintillator will combine high X-ray absorption, high spatial resolution, and negligible afterglow and hysteresis. The proposed manufacturing method is cost-effective and can produce large-area screens. This new scintillator will enable the realization of the high-speed, large area, high-resolution detectors needed for important time-resolved X-ray diffraction and other studies. The goal of the Phase I research is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing the manufacturing method to produce co-doped CsI films that consistently exhibit both low-afterglow and superior spatial resolution ranging from few microns to tens of microns depending on thickness. Selected films will be characterized in detail in terms of both scintillation properties and imaging performance by integrating them into the latest high-speed camera developed by our commercial collaborator and evaluated at the BioCAT beam line at the Advanced Photon Source (APS; Chicago). During the proposed Phase I/Phase II research, we will undertake efforts to successfully develop, produce and market these screens through our own resources and in collaboration with our commercial partners.Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Applications for the enhanced scintillator developed here are many, and range from macromolecular crystallography to medical imaging, and from nondestructive testing to polymer research. Due to the extraordinary properties of this scintillator, it will have widespread use in many important synchrotron-based applications