CeBr3 scintillator
AssigneeRadiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
InventorKanai S. Shah
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Abstract
The present invention provides a new scintillator, cerium bromide (CeBr3), for gamma ray spectroscopy. Crystals of this scintillator have been grown using the Bridgman process. In CeBr3, Ce3+ is an intrinsic constituent as well as a luminescence center for the scintillation process. The crystals have high light output (˜68,000 photons/MeV) and fast decay constant (˜17 ns). Furthermore, it shows excellent energy resolution for γ-ray detection. For example, energy resolution of <4% (FWHM) has been achieved using this scintillator for 662 keV photons (137Cs source) at room temperature. High timing resolution (<200 ps-FWHM) has been recorded with CeBr3-PMT and BaF2-PMT detectors operating in coincidence using 511 keV positron annihilation γ-ray pairs.
Claims29
A self-activated scintillator comprising a cerium bromide (CeBr3) material.
An X-ray detector assembly comprising:
- a self-activated scintillator comprising a CeBr3 material;
- a photon detection assembly, and
- a data analysis system.
A positron emission tomography scanner system comprising:
- a patient area;
- an assembly of radiation detectors disposed adjacent the patient area, wherein the radiation detectors comprise:
- a self-activated scintillator comprising of a cerium bromide (CeBr3) material;
- a scintillation light detector or photomultiplier tube optically coupled to the scintillator;
- and
- a control system coupled to the light detectors or photomultiplier tubes.
An X-ray computed tomography scanner system comprising:
- a patient area;
- a penetrating X-ray source;
- and
- a detector assembly comprising a self-activated scintillator comprising a cerium bromide (CeBr3) material.
A method of performing time-of-flight positron emission tomography comprising:
- administering a patient with a detectable label;
- positioning the patient within a field of view of a scintillator to detect emissions from the patient, wherein the scintillator is a self-activated scintillator comprising a cerium bromide (CeBr3) material;
- and
- detecting a positron annihilation event within a portion of a cross-section of the patient's body for generating an image of the patient.
A well logging device comprising:
- a detector assembly comprising a self-activated scintillator comprising a CeBr3 material, and a photon detection assembly.
A scintillator comprising a cerium bromide material, wherein Br is the only halide present in the scintillator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.