High-Density Glass Scintillators for Proton Radiography—Relative Luminosity, Proton Response, and Spatial Resolution

Abstract

Proton radiography is a promising development in proton therapy, and researchers are currently exploring optimal detector materials to construct proton radiography detector arrays. High-density glass scintillators may improve integrating-mode proton radiography detectors by increasing spatial resolution and decreasing detector thickness. We evaluated several new scintillators, activated with europium or terbium, with proton response measurements and Monte Carlo simulations, characterizing relative luminosity, ionization quenching, and proton radiograph spatial resolution. We applied a correction based on Birks’s analytical model for ionization quenching. The data demonstrate increased relative luminosity with increased activation element concentration, and higher relative luminosity for samples activated with europium. An increased glass density enables more compact detector geometries and higher spatial resolution. These findings suggest that a tungsten and gadolinium oxide-based glass activated with 4% europium is an ideal scintillator for testing in a full-size proton radiography detector.