Divalent fluoride doped cerium fluoride scintillator
First Claim
1. A scintillator comprising cerium fluoride and a divalent fluoride dopant, said scintillator having a fast component with a decay constant of about 5 nanoseconds and a slow component with a decay constant of about 30 nanoseconds.
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Abstract
The use of divalent fluoride dopants in scintillator materials comprising cerium fluoride is disclosed. The preferred divalent fluoride dopants are calcium fluoride, strontium fluoride, and barium fluoride. The preferred amount of divalent fluoride dopant is less than about two percent by weight of the total scintillator. Cerium fluoride scintillator crystals grown with the addition of a divalent fluoride have exhibited better transmissions and higher light outputs than crystals grown without the addition of such dopants. These scintillators are useful in radiation detection and monitoring applications, and are particularly well suited for high-rate applications such as positron emission tomography (PET).
50 Citations
31 Claims
- 1. A scintillator comprising cerium fluoride and a divalent fluoride dopant, said scintillator having a fast component with a decay constant of about 5 nanoseconds and a slow component with a decay constant of about 30 nanoseconds.
- 10. A scintillator comprising cerium fluoride and a scintillation-enhancing dopant represented by the formula XF2, wherein X is selected from the group consisting of calcium, strontium and barium.
- 16. A method of preparing a scintillator comprising cerium fluoride comprising adding a scintillation-enhancing divalent fluoride dopant.
- 21. A camera for use in positron emission tomography comprising a scintillator comprising cerium fluoride and a divalent fluoride dopant, said scintillator having a fast component with a decay constant of about 5 nanoseconds and a slow component with a decay constant of about 30 nanoseconds.
- 24. The method of detecting ionizing radiation which comprises using a scintillator comprising cerium fluoride and a divalent fluoride dopant, said scintillator having a fast component with a decay constant of about 5 nanoseconds and a slow component with a decay constant of about 30 nanoseconds.
- 29. The method of performing positron emission tomography which comprises using a scintillator comprising cerium fluoride and a divalent fluoride dopant, said scintillator having a fast component with a decay constant of about 5 nanoseconds and a slow component with a decay constant of about 30 nanoseconds.
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