(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists have managed to create a cheaper analogue of inorganic crystals used to visualize radiation. This will reduce the cost of some medical and other devices.
To visualize radiation, scintillators are used – special substances that emit visible light when charged particles hit them. They are necessary for the design of radiation detectors and dosimeters, in optoelectronics, photonics, and medicine. The most efficient scintillator is an inorganic single crystal, which is extremely expensive and complicated to manufacture.
TPU scientists believe that multicomponent glasses with a high content of rare-earth ions can compete with single crystals. They are cheaper and easier to manufacture, but slightly worse in properties.
For specialists managed to get scintillators made of multicomponent glasses with a light output of about 60% relative to crystals that are most often found on the market.
“Multicomponent amorphous systems have a high dissolving ability in relation to rare-earth ions, which makes it possible to create an optical material with high transparency and moisture resistance,” says Damir Valiev, associate professor of the Department of Materials Science at TPU.
The researchers hope that the results of their work will help reduce the cost of medical computed tomography and many other devices.
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