I-Corps: NanoOptics - Highly efficient scintillator photonic devices for national security, medical imaging and high energy particle detection applications

无机闪烁体广泛应用于现代医学成像方式（作为x射线和<s:1>辐射的转换器，用于获取人体内部信息，如x射线，CT和PET扫描），国家安全，机场安全以及高能粒子探测器。下一代闪烁体系统发展的一个关键问题是提高探测器的定时、定位和能量分辨率。大多数高密度闪烁体具有较高的折射率；来自闪烁体的光只有不到10%能进入光电探测器。这严重影响了检测系统的效率和检测灵敏度。该团队开发了一种新型的纳米级光子结构，作为闪烁体材料和器件的有效光提取装置。这是一个新兴的领域，提出的研究使这些闪烁体材料的整体效率显著提高。受自然启发的纳米级光子结构的独特特性使人们能够设计输出光束的形状，从而控制光的角度行为。这使得下一代集成闪烁体设备的像素更小，成像分辨率更高，在国家安全和医疗成像等市场领域的各种应用成为可能。这个I-Corps团队将共同努力，为创新的商业化寻找市场机会，根据与美国各地许多潜在客户的对话，发现新的和以前未知的应用。

Inorganic scintillators are widely used in modern medical imaging modalities (as converter for the x-rays and ã-radiation that are used to obtain information about the interior of the body, like x-ray, CT and PET scan), national security, airport security, and high energy particle detector. One key problem in the development of the next generation scintillator systems is the enhancement of the timing, positioning and energy resolution of the detectors. Most of the high-density scintillators have a high refractive index; only less than 10% of the light from the scintillator can enter into the photo detector. This seriously impacts the detection system's efficiency and detection sensitivity. This team has developed a novel class of nano-scale photonic structures that function as efficient light extraction devices for scintillator materials and devices. This is an emerging field and the proposed research has made the overall efficiency of these scintillator materials increase significantly.The unique properties of the nature-inspired nano-scale photonic structures allow one to engineer the output light beam shape, so that the angular behavior of the light can be controlled. This makes smaller pixel, higher imaging resolution possible for the next generation of integrated scintillator devices, with a variety of application possible in market areas including national security and medical imaging. This I-Corps team will work together to seek out market opportunities for commercialization of the innovation, discovering new and previously uncharted applications based on conversations with many potential customers throughout the United States.