US6504156B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Ceramic scintillator material and manufacturing method thereof, and radiation detector therewith and radiation inspection apparatus therewith
Assignee: Toshiba Corp
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Filing: 2000-07-12
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Granted: 2003-01-07
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Expires: 2020-07-12
Abstract
Abstract A ceramic scintillator material consists of a sintered body of a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor containing Pr as an activator. The sintered body has a texture where coarse grains of irregular polyhedron and slender fine grains are intermixed. The coarse grains have a shape of for instance a dimension (average value) in the range of 50 to 100 μm, the fine grains having a shape of which average short axis is in the range of 2 to 5 μm and average long axis in the range of 5 to 100 μm. An area ratio of the coarse grains to the fine grains is in the range of 10:90 to 60:40. Such a ceramic scintillator material has, in addition to excellent light output (high sensitivity), mechanical strength capable of coping with downsizing of a detector. Furthermore, non-uniformity in sensitivity that causes artifacts can be decreased.
Inventors
- 👤 Takeshi Takahara
- 👤 Akihisa Saito
- 👤 Yukihiro Fukuta
- 👤 Eiji Oyaizu
- 👤 Masaaki Tamatani
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 21:37
CPC Classifications
C; C09; C09K; C09K11/00; C09K11/08; C09K11/77; C09K11/7766; C09K11/7767; C09K11/7769; C09K11/7771; C04; C04B; C04B35/00; C04B35/515; C04B35/547; C04B35/622; C04B35/64; C04B35/645; C04B35/6455; G; G01; G01N; G01N23/00; G01N23/02; G01N23/04; G01N23/046; C04B2235/00; C04B2235/02; C04B2235/30; C04B2235/32; C04B2235/3224; C04B2235/3225; C04B2235/3227; C04B2235/3229; C04B2235/3231; C04B2235/3244; C04B2235/34; C04B2235/50; C04B2235/54; C04B2235/5418; C04B2235/5436; C04B2235/65; C04B2235/656; C04B2235/6567; C04B2235/70; C04B2235/74; C04B2235/78; C04B2235/782; C04B2235/783; C04B2235/786; C04B2235/95; C04B2235/96; G01N2223/00; G01N2223/40; G01N2223/419
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
86 words
A ceramic scintillator material comprising a sintered body of a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor containing prasedymium as a primary activator; wherein the sintered body comprises a texture where coarse grains of irregular polyhedron and slender fine grains are intermixed, and wherein the coarse grains have an average dimension in the range of 50 to 100 μm, and the fine grains have an average short axis in the range at 2 to 5 μm and an average long axis in the range of 5 to 100 μm.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
86 words
A ceramic scintillator material comprising a sintered body of a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor containing prasedymium as a primary activator; wherein the sintered body comprises a texture where coarse grains of irregular polyhedron and slender fine grains are intermixed, and wherein the coarse grains have an average dimension in the range of 50 to 100 μm, and the fine grains have an average short axis in the range at 2 to 5 μm and an average long axis in the range of 5 to 100 μm.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
45 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 1 : wherein in a section of a sintered body, a ratio of an area occupied by the coarse grains to an area occupied by the fine grains is in the range of 10:90 to 60:40.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 1 : wherein the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor has a composition substantially expressed by a general formula: RE 2 O 2 S:Pr wherein RE denotes at least one element selected from the group consisting of Y, Gd, La and Lu.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 3 : wherein the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor further contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ce, Zr and P as a coactivator.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
60 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 1 : wherein the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor has a composition substantially expressed by a general formula: (Gd 1−x1 , RE′ x ) 2 O 2 S:Pr wherein RE′ denotes at least one element selected from the group consisting of Y, La and Lu, and x is a number satisfying 0≦x≦0.1.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 1 : wherein the ceramic scintillator material comprises a planar scintillator slab.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 6 : wherein the scintillator slab is a disc having a diameter of 20 to 300 mm and a thickness of 0.5 to 1 mm.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
44 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 6 : wherein the scintillator slab is a rectangular plate of a short side of 20 to 300 mm, a long side of 110 to 500 mm and a thickness of 0.5 to 1 mm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 1 : wherein the ceramic scintillator material comprises a scintillator chip of rectangular rod.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 9 : wherein the scintillator chip has a shape of which length is 20 to 300 mm, width 0.5 to 2 mm, and thickness 0.5 to 3 mm.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
82 words
A method for manufacturing a ceramic scintillator material comprising a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor containing praseodymium as a primary activator: wherein a heat treatment condition and/or a pressure condition during manufacturing the sintered body is controlled so as to form an intermixed texture comprising coarse grains of irregular polyhedron having an average size of 50 to 100 μm and slender fine grains having an average short axis of 2 to 5 μm and an average long axis of 5 to 100 μm.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
82 words
A method for manufacturing a ceramic scintillator material comprising a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor containing praseodymium as a primary activator: wherein a heat treatment condition and/or a pressure condition during manufacturing the sintered body is controlled so as to form an intermixed texture comprising coarse grains of irregular polyhedron having an average size of 50 to 100 μm and slender fine grains having an average short axis of 2 to 5 μm and an average long axis of 5 to 100 μm.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method for manufacturing a ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 11 , comprising: a step of manufacturing the sintered body due to HIP procedure; wherein as the heat treatment condition and/or the pressure condition, conditions of the HIP procedure are controlled.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
A radiation detector, comprising: a ceramic scintillator material as set forth in claim 1 ; luminescence generating means for causing the ceramic scintillator material to generate light according to incident radiation; and means for, after receiving the light generated from the luminescence generating means, carrying out photoelectric conversion of the light to an electric output.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
44 words
The radiation detector as set forth in claim 13 : wherein the luminescence generating means is a radiation detector comprising a scintillator block where multiple scintillator segments manufactured by slicing a scintillator chip consisting of the ceramic scintillator material are integrated lengthwise and breadthwise.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
56 words
The radiation detector as set forth in claim 14 : wherein the luminescence generating means comprises a plurality of respective channels, the respective channels having a configuration in which a plurality of segments manufactured by slicing the scintillator chip are integrated in a direction approximately perpendicular to a direction of arrangement of the plurality of channels.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
33 words
A radiation inspection apparatus, comprising: a radiation source for illuminating radiation toward an object to be inspected; and a radiation detector set forth in claim 15 for detecting radiation transmitted through the object.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
20 words
The radiation inspection apparatus as set forth in claim 16 : wherein the radiation inspection apparatus is an X-ray tomograph.
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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) | 2006-01-06 | 2006-07-08 | 2007-01-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-01-06 | 2010-07-08 | 2011-01-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-01-06 | 2014-07-08 | 2015-01-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |