US6358441B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Cubic garnet host with PR activator as a scintillator material
Assignee: General Electric Co
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Filing: 2001-04-06
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Granted: 2002-03-19
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Expires: 2021-04-06
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 21:26
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: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
59 words
A process of making a transparent solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material comprising: forming a phosphor powder of a cubic garnet host material with praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, where the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation; pressing the phosphor powder to form a powder compact; sintering the powder compact.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
59 words
A process of making a transparent solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material comprising: forming a phosphor powder of a cubic garnet host material with praseodymium distributed within the cubic garnet host material, where the praseodymium acts as an activator which luminesces in response to stimulating x-ray radiation; pressing the phosphor powder to form a powder compact; sintering the powder compact.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 1 , further comprising: ball milling the phosphor powder before the pressing.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 1 , wherein the sintering is performed in a temperature range of between about 1,400 and about 1,525° C., and in an oxygen atmosphere for a time between 1 and 3 hours.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 1 , further comprising: hot isostatic pressing the powder compact.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
42 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 4 , wherein the hot isostatic pressing is performed in a temperature range of between 1,350 and 1,600° C., and in a pressure range of between 5,000 and 25,000 psi.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 5 , wherein the hot isostatic pressing is performed in an argon gas atmosphere.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic 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 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 7 , wherein the cubic garnet host is gadolinium gallium garnet.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 8 , 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 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 9 , 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 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
The process of making a solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 1 , wherein an afterglow reducing element is distributed within the cubic garnet host material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
43 words
The process of making a transparent solid polycrystalline ceramic scintillator material of claim 11 , 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.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-03-18 | 2005-09-17 | 2006-03-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-03-18 | 2009-09-17 | 2010-03-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-03-18 | 2013-09-17 | 2014-03-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |