Flat panel X-ray imaging of LuAG:Ce,Mg ceramic scintillators

Abstract

(Lu, Mg, Ce)3Al5O12 (LuAG: Ce, Mg) transparent ceramic scintillators (LuAG: 0.3at% Ce, 0.2at% Mg) with high optical and scintillation efficiency were fabricated by solid-state reaction method combined with vacuum sintering. The ceramic scintillator with dimension of 20 mm×20 mm×0.05 mm was packed with graphite substrate of 25 mm×25 mm×4 mm by graphite powders contained silica gel. Laser cutting of cubic array with dimension of 50 μm×50 μm and distance of 10 μm was performed. Flat panel X-ray imaging based on as prepaired ceramics was demonstrated. The images were good quality with a high resolution. The quality of the photos were evaluated by line-pair pattern method and knife edge method, respectively. MTF value of 17.5% was at 10 lp/mm for the ceramic scintillators after laser cutting, while resolution of 9 lp/mm achieved at 10% MTF by knife edge measurement. Based on above data, LuAG:Ce,Mg ceramics are proved to be a promising scintillator in flat panel X-ray imaging.