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OwnerSamuel Blahuta, Eric E. Mattmann +2inventors
InventorsSamuel Blahuta, Eric E. Mattmann, Damien Pauwels, Bruno Viana
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A scintillation compound can include a rare earth element that is in a divalent (RE2+) or a tetravalent state (RE4+). The scintillation compound can include another element to allow for better change balance. The other element may be a principal constituent of the scintillation compound or may be a dopant or a co-dopant. In an embodiment, a metal element in a trivalent state (M3+) may be replaced by RE4+ and a metal element in a divalent state (M2+). In another embodiment, M3+ may be replaced by RE2+ and M4+. In a further embodiment, M2+ may be replaced by a RE3+ and a metal element in a monovalent state (M1+). The metal element used for electronic charge balance may have a single valance state, rather than a plurality of valence states, to help reduce the likelihood that the valance state would change during formation of the scintillation compound.
A material comprising a rare earth (Ln) silicate doped with an element RE different from Ln, RE being chosen among Ce, Pr, Tb, wherein the element RE is at least partially in its 4+ oxidation state (RE4+), the quantity of RE4+ in said material being comprised between 0.0001% and 0.1% in mass, and further doped with a divalent alkaline-earth element.
The scintillation material according to the previous claim, wherein the scintillation material is codoped with a divalent alkaline earth element M present in a proportion from 0.0025 mol % to 15 mol % of the sum of all the rare earths included in the scintillation material.
A scintillation compound comprising a rare earth silicate having a dopant in a divalent state at a concentration of at least 5 ppm atomic and a rare earth element in a tetravalent state at a concentration of at least approximately 10 ppm atomic of the scintillation compound.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.