Design and elaboration of highly resolved and efficient Cu+-doped oxyfluoride glass scintillators for X-ray image based on response surface methodology

Abstract

Bulk glass scintillators, which process the advantages of low cost, cheap elaboration, excellent transparency and high uniformly, have garnered great attention for X-ray imaging application. Cu+-doped oxyfluoride glass scintillators were designed and elaborated by using Al powder as reducing agent. The relationship of X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) of Cu+-doped glasses with doping concentration of Cu+ and the addition of Al content were investigated by the response surface methodology to get the optimal glass. The optimal glass scintillator shows high transmittance (90.0% at visible region), short lifetime (42.9 μs), high absorption efficiency (93.0% at 290 nm) and good internal quantum yield (75.2%). Excitedly, the integrated XEL intensity of optimal sample is 141% of that of Bi4Ge3O12 crystal. And its spatial resolution reaches 20 lp/mm for X-ray imaging. Above results illustrate the potential application of Cu+-doped oxyfluoride glass scintillators in X-ray imaging filed.