Charles L. Melcher

Cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate: a fast, efficient new scintillator

A new single-crystal inorganic scintillator, cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate (Lu/sub 2(1-x)/)Ce/sub 2x/(SiO/sub 4/)O or LSO, which has a number of advantages over existing scintillators has recently been discovered. It has a scintillation emission intensity which is approximately 75% of Na(Tl) with a decay time of approximately 40 ns. The peak emission wavelength is 420 nm. It has a very high gamma-ray detection efficiency due to its density of 7.4 g/cm/sup 3/ and its effective atomic number of 66. Its radiation length of 1.14 cm is only slightly longer than that of BGO (1.12 cm). Due to its unique combination of high emission intensity, speed, and high density and atomic number, LSO appears to be an attractive candidate for diverse applications, including medical imaging, high-energy physics experiments, and geophysical exploration.<<ETX>>

Properties of LYSO and recent LSO scintillators for phoswich PET detectors

The luminescence and nuclear spectroscopic properties of the new cerium-doped rare-earth scintillator lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (Lu/sub 0.6/Y/sub 1.4/Si/sub 0.5/:Ce, LYSO) were investigated and compared to those of both recent and older LSO crystals. UV-excited luminescent spectra outline important similarities between LYSO and LSO scintillators. The two distinct Ce1 and Ce2 luminescence mechanisms previously identified in LSO are also present in LYSO scintillators. The energy and timing resolutions were measured using avalanche photodiode (APD) and photomultiplier tube (PMT) readouts. The dependence of energy resolution on gamma-ray energy was also assessed to unveil the crystal intrinsic resolution parameters. In spite of significant progress in light output and luminescence properties, the energy resolution of these scintillators appears to still suffer from an excess variance in the number of scintillation photons. Pulse-shape discrimination between LYSO and LSO scintillators has been successfully achieved in phoswich assemblies, confirming LYSO, with a sufficient amount of yttrium to modify the decay time, to be a potential candidate for depth-of-interaction determination in multicrystal PET detectors.

Performance results of a new DOI detector block for a high resolution PET-LSO research tomograph HRRT

To improve the spatial resolution and uniformity in modern high resolution brain PET systems over the entire field of view (FOV), it is necessary to archive the depth of interaction (DOI) information and correct for spatial resolution degradation. In this work the authors present the performance results of a high resolution LSO/GSO phoswich block detector with DOI capability. This detector design will be used in the new CTI High Resolution Research Tomograph, ECAT HRRT. The two crystal layer (19/spl times/19/spl times/7.5 mm/sup 3/) and a light guide are stacked on each other and mounted on a (2/spl times/2) PMT set, so that the corners of the phoswich are positioned over the PMT centers. The crystal phoswich is cut into a 8/spl times/8 matrix of discrete crystals. The separation of the LSO and the GSO layer by pulse shape discrimination allows discrete DOI information to be obtained. The high light output and the light guide design results in an accurate identification of the 128 single crystals per block. Flood source measurements document a very good homogeneity of events, energy centroid stability and energy resolution (14-20% FWHM) per single crystal. An intrinsic resolution of /spl sim/1.3 mm and the DOI feasibility is extracted by coincidence measurements with a single GSO crystal.

YSO, LSO, CSO and LGSO. A study of energy resolution and nonproportionality

We have studied nonproportionality and intrinsic energy resolution of cerium doped YSO, GSO, LSO and LGSO crystals. While LSO and YSO have similar light output, GSO and LGSO have ca. 70% and 20% lower light output than LSO, respectively. YSO, as a compound containing fairly light elements, was expected to be proportional for light output vs. energy scale, like YAP:Ce. Surprisingly it is almost the same nonproportionality as LSO and GSO. Nonproportionality of YSO is followed by large values of intrinsic energy resolution. The comparison of nonproportionality of YSO-LSO and YAP LuAP pairs indicates that the high proportionality of scintillators is connected with the structure of the crystal and not with the presence of light elements. To our knowledge, this is the first study of nonproportionality and intrinsic resolution for LGSO.

Comparison of Fast Scintillators With TOF PET Potential

The renewed interest in time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) has been accompanied by new research in the development of fast scintillators, mainly halides and/or lutetium-based compounds doped with Ce or Pr. In this work we measure some intrinsic properties of these materials, such as decay time and light output, which have a direct effect on time resolution, the key performance parameter for a TOF-grade detector. In particular, we report on measurements on LSO:Ce, LuAG:Pr, LuYAP:Ce, LaBr3:Ce and LaCl3:Ce. The scintillators are characterized in terms of absolute light yield, decay time, energy resolution, emission and excitation spectra, and time resolution. A new figure of merit to compare scintillators based on their performance in a TOF PET scanner is introduced. This figure of merit, the TOF effective sensitivity eta , includes both interaction probability and timing characteristics.

New prospects for time-of-flight PET with LSO scintillators

The growing interest in time-of-flight PET triggered the study of the time resolution obtainable with a 4times4times20 mm3 LSO crystal coupled directly to the center of a 52 mm in diameter Photonis XP20D0 photomultiplier as well as the time resolution obtainable with the use of an 11 mm thick Lucite light diffuser that simulates the conditions in typical PET block detectors. The LSO crystal directly coupled to the PMT yielded a time resolution of 166plusmn5 ps, while in the case of light readout with the use of the light diffuser it degraded to 196plusmn5 ps and 277plusmn6 ps in the center and at the edge of the PMT, respectively. The light diffuser was coated on the sides with black tape to absorb light and to approximate in this way the realistic performance of a future block detector. Similar time resolution was obtained by coupling the LSO crystal either to the Photonis XP20D0 PMT or to a very fast 25 mm diameter Hamamatsu R5320 PMT. These results illustrate the advantages of the very low time jitter of the Hamamatsu PMT on one side, and high quantum efficiency and a screening grid at the anode of the Photonis PMT, on the other. This study strongly suggests that time-of-flight PET based on LSO crystals is a realistic proposition for the further development

Effect of codoping on scintillation and optical properties of a Ce-doped Gd3Ga3Al2O12 scintillator

Single crystals of Gd3Ga3Al2O12 : Ce with different codopants were successfully grown using the Czochralski technique. Optical and scintillation properties of these codoped crystals were studied in detail including absorption, photoluminescence excitation and emission, decay time and thermoluminescence. This study revealed that while boron codoping improves the scintillation light output and energy resolution and decreases self-absorption in these crystals, calcium codoping affects their properties in the opposite manner. In addition to antisite defects, the effect of room temperature trap centres on the sensitivity of these crystals to light exposure is also reported for the first time. Light sensitivity was also found to be affected with the incorporation of codopants in the lattice. The effect of annealing in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres on the scintillation and optical properties of differently codoped crystals was also investigated in detail in order to better understand the defect structure of these crystals. All these measurements together are used to explain the effect of codoping on the crystal field and defect structure of these crystals.

Scintillation properties of LSO:Ce boules

We investigated the scintillation characteristics of 1880 LSO crystals that were cut from 76 crystal boules. We measured the light output and energy resolution of all 1880 crystals, and also measured the decay times of 1169 of the crystals. We observed trends in light output and energy resolution that were not previously evident from studies of small numbers of crystals, and in addition, a correlation between light output and decay time became evident for the first time. The results may be interpreted in terms of the properties of the two Ce scintillation centers in LSO, the effect of quenching centers, and the effects of Ce segregation during crystal growth.

Effects of Calcium Codoping on Charge Traps in LSO:Ce Crystals

Experimental studies of Lu2SiO5:Ce (LSO:Ce) crystals codoped with various concentrations of Ca (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 at% in the melt) are presented. The scintillation and optical properties including photoluminescence decay, emission, excitation, absorption, afterglow and thermoluminescence properties are investigated as a function of Ca concentration. Experimental data show Ca codoping significantly reduces the trapped charge population in the crystal matrix. Hence, the scintillation decay time of LSO:Ce is shortened and the afterglow is suppressed. Thermoluminescence studies show a strong correlation between the integrated thermoluminescence intensity and the Ca concentration.

Characterization of Scintillators by Modern Photomultipliers—A New Source of Errors

The observed discrepancy in the light output, measured for a number of LSO, LYSO and BGO scintillators by different photomultipliers (PMTs), triggered studies to understand the problem. For that purpose the photoelectron number was measured by two different methods: the direct one based on a comparison of the full energy peak to that of the single photoelectron and by a method based on the pulse height resolution of the peak due to the light pulser. In this study, a significant number of different PMTs from Photonis and Hamamatsu were used. We concluded that the number of photoelectrons measured by means of the direct method was higher than the number of photoelectrons calculated from the pulse height resolution of the light pulser peak for all of the PMTs but XP2020Q. It leads to a large dispersion in the estimated light output for a given scintillator. In detail, the light output of BGO and LSO determined with the R6231 and R2059 PMTs is comparable to those measured with XP2020Q PMT and the S3590-18 pin photodiode, when photoelectron number is calculated from the pulse height resolution. Further in-depth studies of the photoelectron number at different bias voltages suggested that the effect is related to the space charge created in the dynode structure of the PMTs. Operation of PMTs at lower bias/gain minimizes this effect; thus, low noise electronics are recommended to determine the single photoelectron peak under these conditions. Moreover, the absolute light output of scintillators is affected by differences in the quantum efficiency calibrations by Photonis and Hamamatsu.