Eu-doped (Y0.85−xLa0.15)2O3 sesquioxide transparent ceramics for high-spatial-resolution X-ray imaging

Abstract

X-ray imaging has attracted considerable attention in the fields of environmental monitoring, industrial radiation detection, and biological health, and the key to X-ray imaging lies in the performance of scintillators. However, current single-crystal scintillators suffer from high cost, low doping concentration, and inhomogeneous distribution. Here, we report a (Y_0.85−xLa_0.15)₂O₃:xEu transparent ceramic scintillator prepared by vacuum sintering with uniform composition distribution and a transmittance of over 80.1% in the wavelength range of 632–1822 nm. The radioluminescence intensity of (Y_0.79La_0.15)₂O₃:6.0% Eu (λ = 611 nm) is 6.7 times higher than that of Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ (λ = 473 nm) and shows excellent radiation stability and fatigue resistance. In addition, the detection limit (129.8 nGy s⁻¹) is lower than that required for X-ray diagnostics (5.5 μGy s⁻¹). The prepared (Y_0.85−xLa_0.15)₂O₃:xEu transparent X-ray imaging demonstrates a high spatial resolution of 18.0 lp mm⁻¹. Therefore, (Y_0.85−xLa_0.15)₂O₃:xEu transparent ceramics have the potential to be used for high-spatial-resolution X-ray imaging.