Synthesis-Microstructure-Performance Relations in Oxide Ceramic Scintillators

非技术描述：闪烁体是一种独特的材料，可以将高能电离辐射转化为可探测的可见光。它们用于安全、能源、医疗诊断和科学等领域的辐射检测和测量。目前，关于透明陶瓷闪烁体的制造和加工条件与闪烁输出之间存在知识缺口，这种情况破坏了它们的性能，并对这些材料的广泛使用产生了负面影响。这个项目的创新之处在于超越了透明陶瓷的制造，建立了制造条件、微观结构和缺陷特征与余辉和闪烁性能之间的关系。更广泛的影响包括学生参与研究活动、科学事件和教学；与此同时，在EPSCoR州SC和OK的机构中，扩大未被充分代表的拉丁裔少数民族教师的参与；以及结果的传播。技术细节：假设闪烁和余辉的强度与产生电子陷阱的结构缺陷的浓度有关，并且可以通过确定合适的稀土掺杂剂来从陷阱中排出电荷载流子来减轻余辉。该项目旨在研究晶界密度和氧非化学计量对闪烁效率和余辉强度和持续时间的影响，并建立预测能力，以确定合适的稀土掺杂剂来降低余辉强度和持续时间。它专注于稀土掺杂的Lu2O3， Y2O3和Y3Al5O12透明陶瓷，最终产生关于如何制造具有增强性能的陶瓷闪烁体的理解，可以使战略领域和社会普遍受益。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Scintillators are unique materials that transform high energy ionizing radiation into detectable visible light. They are used for the detection and measurement of radiation in fields like security, energy, medical diagnosis, and science. Presently, there is a knowledge gap relating the fabrication and processing conditions of transparent ceramic scintillators with their scintillation output, a situation that undermines their performance and negatively impacts the widespread use of these materials. The innovative aspect of this project is to go beyond the fabrication of transparent ceramics to establish relations between fabrication conditions, microstructure, and defect characteristics with afterglow and scintillation performance. The broader impacts include the engagement of students in research activities, scientific events, and teaching; concomitant to broadening the participation of faculty from underrepresented Latino minority in institutions from the EPSCoR states SC and OK; and the dissemination of results.TECHNICAL DETAILS: It is hypothesized that the intensities of scintillation and afterglow are related to the concentration of structural imperfections that generate electronic traps, and that it is possible to mitigate afterglow by identifying suitable rare earth dopants to drain charge carriers off traps. The project aims at investigating the effect of grain boundary density and oxygen non-stoichiometry on the scintillation efficiency and afterglow intensity and duration, and at developing a predictive capability to identify suitable rare earth dopants to decrease afterglow intensity and duration. It focuses on rare earth doped Lu2O3, Y2O3, and Y3Al5O12 transparent ceramics, ultimately generating an understanding about how to fabricate ceramic scintillators with enhanced performance that can benefit the strategic areas and society in general.