SBIR Phase I: A New High Efficiency, Low Cost Scintillator Screen for Digital Radiography

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a new x-ray imaging screen that offers superior properties for digital radiography compared to current materials. Specifically, this new screen will address many of the limitations of digital x-ray imaging by allowing fabrication of systems that provide high spatial resolution, high signal to noise ratios, low noise performance, and substantially better detective quantum efficiency. This new scintillator will find wide spread use in areas of medical diagnostics, homeland security, and many other applications of x-ray imaging. The objectives of the project include optimizing the method of synthesizing the scintillator in powder form with appropriate stoichiometry, particle size, and shape for enhanced scintillation efficiency and packing density. A newly developed, cost-effective coating method will be used to produce large-area, rugged and long-lived scintillator screens. Superiority of the approach for digital imaging will be demonstrated by integrating screens into existing digital readouts and conducting detailed x-ray imaging studies. The proposed scintillator screens are specifically advantageous for homeland security applications that are currently focused on efficient detection of illegal or threatening materials. Additionally, x-ray detectors based on the proposed screen will find applications in the areas of biotechnology, medical diagnostics, and non-destructive testing systems such as baggage scanning and building damage assessment systems. Collective market for digital x-ray imaging is in billions of dollars; a significant fraction of this market represents areas where the proposed technology is well suited.