SBIR-STTR Award

There is a great need for scintillators that are efficient, fast, heavy, and cheap, for X-ray and intermediate photon detections in nuclear physics. Unfortunately, the conventional methods used to search for new and efficient scintillator materials are very slow and inefficient. This project will develop and apply a highly efficient combinatorial process to significantly speed up the discovery process for advanced scintillators. The combinatorial synthesis technique can prepare and study over 1,000 samples per week, and promising scintillator materials can be quickly fished out from the large pool of candidates. Phase I will develop and demonstrate that scintillators can be prepared and studied by the combinatorial synthesis and high-throughput screening technique. Approximately 2,000 different scintillator compositions of various oxides doped with cerium will be deposited as potential efficient scintillators. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: The development of advanced scintillator materials with faster response times, higher density, greater radiation hardness, and higher energy efficiencies should have significant benefits in physics and chemistry research, medical diagnosis, well-logging, industrial non-destructive evaluation (NDE), and safety inspections (such as at airports), etc.

The lack of efficient scintillators hinders the development of a powerful x-ray detector for use in homeland security, industry, and science research. This project will develop a high-throughput screening process, and corresponding crystal growth technology, to significantly speed up the discovery process for the new efficient scintillators Scintillators have been used for several decades as the primary technique for detecting charged particles such as protons, electrons, alpha particles, and heavy ions, as well as neutrons, X-rays, and gamma rays. However, existing scintillators have some serious shortcomings, and there is a great need for scintillators that are efficient, fast, heavy, and low cost. This project will use combinatorial synthesis, single crystal growth, and transparent ceramic preparation to discover and fabricate new scintillator materials that have high light output, short decay time, high x-ray stopping power, and low cost. In Phase I, five new scintillator materials were identified with superior properties. For example, the scintillator material Bi7.38Zr0.62O12.31 possessed higher density and much higher light output than PbWO4. In Phase II, the discovery process for advanced scintillators will be expanded to ternary and quadric compound systems, using the combinatorial process developed in Phase I. Single crystals and transparent ceramics will be prepared, using the compositions identified in Phase I, and the characterization of these new scintillator materials will be completed. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: The development of new scintillator materials with faster response times, higher density, greater radiation hardness, and higher energy efficiencies should provide significant advantages in a variety of applications including security (such as airport) inspections, medical diagnosis, well-logging, industrial non-destructive evaluation (NDE), and physics and chemistry research