Patent US6246744B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6246744B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Cubic garnet host with PR activator as a scintillator material
Assignee: General Electric Co
•
Filing: 1999-05-06
•
Granted: 2001-06-12
•
Expires: 2019-05-06
Abstract
Abstract A transparent scintillator material for rapid conversion of exciting radiation, such as x-rays, to scintillating radiation. The scintillator material has a cubic garnet host, and has praseodymium as an activator. The scintillator material may be a polycrystalline ceramic material. The polycrystalline ceramic is formed by sintering a powder formed by precipitation. The scintillator material may be integrated into computed tomography (CT) equipment or other x-ray imaging equipment. The scintillator material may also be integrated into a fast response x-ray detector system.
Inventors
- 👤 Steven Jude Duclos
- 👤 Alok Mani Srivastava
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 11:18
CPC Classifications
C; C09; C09K; C09K11/00; C09K11/08; C09K11/77; C09K11/7766; C09K11/7767; C09K11/7769; C04; C04B; C04B35/00; C04B35/01; C04B35/622; C04B35/64; C04B35/645; C04B35/6455; G; G01; G01T; G01T1/00; G01T1/16; G01T1/20; G01T1/202; G01T1/2023; C04B2235/00; C04B2235/02; C04B2235/30; C04B2235/32; C04B2235/3224; C04B2235/3286; C04B2235/70; C04B2235/74; C04B2235/76; C04B2235/762; C04B2235/764; C04B2235/77; C04B2235/96; C04B2235/9646; C04B2235/9653; G21; G21K; G21K4/00; G21K2004/06; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S264/00; Y10S264/91
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 44
Claim 1
Independent Claim
35 words
A transparent solid scintillator material comprising: a cubic garnet host material; and praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, wherein the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
35 words
A transparent solid scintillator material comprising: a cubic garnet host material; and praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, wherein the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 1 , wherein the cubic garnet host is selected from the group consisting of gadolinium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium aluminum garnet, lutetium aluminum garnet and yttrium gallium garnet.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 2 , wherein the cubic garnet host is gadolinium gallium garnet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 3 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.01 to 5.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 4 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.5 to 2.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 1 , further comprising: an afterglow reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 6 , wherein the cubic garnet host material is gadolinium gallium garnet and the afterglow reducing element is selected from the group consisting of yttrium, thulium, ytterbium, samarium and europium.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 7 , wherein the afterglow reducing element has a concentration in the cubic garnet host of about 150 mole parts per million.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
46 words
A transparent solid scintillator material comprising: a cubic garnet host material; praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, wherein the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation; and a radiation damage-reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
46 words
A transparent solid scintillator material comprising: a cubic garnet host material; praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, wherein the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation; and a radiation damage-reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
The transparent solid scintillator material of claim 9 , wherein the radiation damage reducing element is thulium.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
51 words
A computed tomography system comprising: an x-ray source; a solid scintillator material including a cubic garnet host material, and praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, where the praseodymium acts as an activator; and a scintillating radiation detector optically coupled to the solid scintillator material for detecting the scintillating radiation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
51 words
A computed tomography system comprising: an x-ray source; a solid scintillator material including a cubic garnet host material, and praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, where the praseodymium acts as an activator; and a scintillating radiation detector optically coupled to the solid scintillator material for detecting the scintillating radiation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The computed tomography system of claim 11 , wherein the scintillating radiation detector comprises an array of photodetector cells.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The computed tomography system of claim 11 , wherein the scintillating radiation detector comprises at least one photodiode.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The computed tomography system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one photodiode is an array of photodiodes.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
34 words
The computed tomography system of claim 12 , further comprising: a control system coupled to the array of photodetector cells for receiving signals output from the photodetector cells in response to the scintillating radiation.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
38 words
The computed tomography system of claim 11 , wherein the cubic garnet host is selected from the group consisting of gadolinium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium aluminum garnet, lutetium aluminum garnet and yttrium gallium garnet.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
17 words
The computed tomography system of claim 16 , wherein the cubic garnet host is gadolinium gallium garnet.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
31 words
The computed tomography system of claim 17 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.01 to 5.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
The computed tomography system of claim 18 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.5 to 2.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
27 words
The computed tomography system of claim 17 , wherein the transparent solid scintillator material further includes an afterglow reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
50 words
A fast response x-ray detector system comprising: a solid scintillator material including a cubic garnet host material, and praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, where the praseodymium acts as an activator; and a scintillating radiation detector optically coupled to the solid scintillator material for detecting the scintillating radiation.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
50 words
A fast response x-ray detector system comprising: a solid scintillator material including a cubic garnet host material, and praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, where the praseodymium acts as an activator; and a scintillating radiation detector optically coupled to the solid scintillator material for detecting the scintillating radiation.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
40 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 , wherein the cubic garnet host is selected from the group consisting of gadolinium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium aluminum garnet, lutetium aluminum garnet and yttrium gallium garnet.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 22 , wherein the cubic garnet host is gadolinium gallium garnet.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
33 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 23 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.01 to 5.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
33 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 24 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.5 to 2.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
28 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 23 , wherein the solid scintillator material further includes an afterglow reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
22 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 wherein the scintillating radiation detector is one of a photodiode and a photomultiplier.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
25 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 , wherein the scintillator material is optically coupled to photodetector by being physically adjacent the photodetector.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
36 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 , wherein the scintillator material is optically coupled to photodetector by means of optical fibers which transmit the scintillating radiation from the scintillator material to the photodetector.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
19 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 , wherein the photodetector comprises an array of detector elements.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
29 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 , further comprising: control electronics which collect the output signal from the photodetector corresponding to detection of the scintillating radiation.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
22 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 21 , further comprising: an x-ray source for directing x-rays toward the scintillator material.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
30 words
The fast response x-ray detector system of claim 32 , further comprising: a compartment for holding an object to be studied located between the x-ray source and the scintillator material.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
43 words
A phosphor powder comprising: a cubic garnet host material; praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, wherein the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation; and an afterglow-reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
43 words
A phosphor powder comprising: a cubic garnet host material; praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, wherein the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation; and an afterglow-reducing element distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
37 words
The phosphor powder of claim 34 , wherein the cubic garnet host is selected from the group consisting of gadolinium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium gallium garnet, gadolinium scandium aluminum garnet, lutetium aluminum garnet and yttrium gallium garnet.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
16 words
The phosphor powder of claim 35 , wherein the cubic garnet host is gadolinium gallium garnet.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
30 words
The phosphor powder of claim 36 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.01 to 5.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
30 words
The phosphor powder of claim 37 , wherein the praseodymium is in the gadolinium gallium garnet in a concentration range of 0.5 to 2.0 mole percent relative to the gadolinium.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
35 words
The phosphor powder of claim 34 , wherein the cubic garnet host material is gadolinium gallium garnet and the afterglow reducing element is selected from the group consisting of yttrium, thulium, ytterbium, samarium and europium.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4093890A
Cited
US5318722A
Cited
US5360557A
Cited
US5391876A
Cited
US5484750A
Cited
US5057642A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-06-11 | 2004-12-11 | 2005-06-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-06-11 | 2008-12-11 | 2009-06-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-06-11 | 2012-12-11 | 2013-06-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |