Direct conversion radiation detector

Abstract

The present invention relates to a direct conversion radiation detector for wherein the direct conversion material comprises a garnet with a composition of Z3(AlxGay)O12:Ce, wherein Z is Lu, Gd, Y, Tb or combinations thereof and wherein y is equal to or greater than x; and preferably Z comprises Gd. Suitable garnets directly convert radiation, such as x-rays or gamma-rays, into electronic signals. Preferably photoluminescence of the garnet is low or absent. The detector is particularly suitable for use in x-ray imaging devices, such as computed tomography. In some embodiments photoluminescence of garnets might be used to construct a hybrid direct-indirect conversion detector, which may be particularly suitable for use with Time-of-Flight PET.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.