Fluorozirconate-based glass ceramic X-ray detectors for digital radiography

Two-dimensional indirect digital X-ray detectors use either a storage phosphor or a scintillator as an imaging plate. A storage phosphor forms a latent X-ray image, which is subsequently readout by a photostimulable luminescence process. A scintillator produces a visible image during X-ray illumination. Commercial storage-phosphor image plates have relatively poor spatial resolution because of light scattering during the readout. To improve their image resolution, europium (II)-doped fluorozirconate (FZ)-based glasses containing barium chloride nanoparticles have been developed. X-ray imaging showed that these storage-phosphor plates can resolve features as small as 17μm. By using appropriate thermal-processing conditions, the FZ-based glass ceramics can also be made into transparent glass ceramic scintillators. Imaging tests showed that these scintillators have a spatial resolution and efficiency comparable to those of a single-crystal CdWO4 scintillator. These results demonstrate that FZ-based glass ceramics are good candidates for digital radiography, either for storage phosphor or scintillator applications.