Evaluating optical spectral matching of phosphor-photodetector combinations

Abstract

Phosphor materials are used in medical X-ray imaging combined with various photodetectors suitable for conventional and digital radiography and fluoroscopy. A prerequisite for these combinations is good optical spectral matching, which results in patient dose minimization. In the present work, a recently introduced factor, named OGTE, which accounts for optical gain signal-to-noise ratio transfer efficiency, is utilized for the evaluation of various phosphor-photodetector combinations. The optical photon spectrum of the phosphor materials studied was either determined experimentally, or obtained from literature. These phosphors were examined in conjunction with various photodetectors, which may be suitable for digital imaging. The corresponding optical response functions of the photodetectors were obtained from literature. It was found that there are numerous combinations exhibiting OGTE values above 0.80, which contribute to patient dose minimization. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.