US8598530B2
Active / In Force
US
⏱️ 4.5 years remaining
Chloride scintillator for radiation detection
Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc
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Filing: 2011-05-02
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Granted: 2013-12-03
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Expires: 2031-05-02
Abstract
Abstract The present disclosure discloses, in one arrangement, a single crystalline chloride scintillator material having a composition of the formula A 3 MCl 6 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs and M consists essentially of Ce and Gd. In another arrangement, a chloride scintillator material is single-crystalline and has a composition of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 , wherein A consists essentially of Li, Na K, Rb, Cs or any combination thereof, and M consists essentially of Ce, Sc, Y, La, Lu, Gd, Pr, Tb, Yb, Nd or any combination thereof. Specific examples of these scintillator materials include single-crystalline Ce-doped KGd 2 Cl 7 (KGd 2(1-x) Ce 2x Cl 7 ) and Ce-doped CsGd 2 Cl 7 (CsGd 2(1-x) Ce 2x Cl 7 ).
Inventors
- 👤 Mariya Zhuravleva
- 👤 Kan Yang
- 👤 Charles L. Melcher
- 👤 Piotr SZUPRYCZYNSKI
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 12:03
CPC Classifications
G; G21; G21K; G21K4/00; C; C09; C09K; C09K11/00; C09K11/08; C09K11/77; C09K11/7704; C09K11/7705; C09K11/7715; C09K11/7719; C09K11/772; C09K11/7766; C09K11/7772; C09K11/7773; C30; C30B; C30B11/00; C30B29/00; C30B29/10; C30B29/12; G21K2004/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
52 words
A scintillator material comprising a single crystal having a composition of the formula A 3 MCl 6 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce and Gd, and wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
52 words
A scintillator material comprising a single crystal having a composition of the formula A 3 MCl 6 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce and Gd, and wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The scintillator material of claim 1 , comprising a single crystal having a composition of the formula Cs 3 CeCl 6 .
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The scintillator material of claim 2 , having a light output of at least about four times that of BGO when excited with a gamma-ray of 662 keV.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
88 words
A scintillator material comprising a single crystal having a composition of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 , wherein A consists essentially of Li, Na K, Rb, Cs or any combination thereof, and M consists essentially of Ce, Sc, Y, La, Lu, Gd, Pr, Tb, Yb, Nd or any combination thereof wherein the single crystal has a composition of the formula KGd 2(1-x) Ce 2x Cl 7 , and wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
88 words
A scintillator material comprising a single crystal having a composition of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 , wherein A consists essentially of Li, Na K, Rb, Cs or any combination thereof, and M consists essentially of Ce, Sc, Y, La, Lu, Gd, Pr, Tb, Yb, Nd or any combination thereof wherein the single crystal has a composition of the formula KGd 2(1-x) Ce 2x Cl 7 , and wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The Scintillator material of claim 4 , comprising a single crystal having a composition of the formula CsCe 2 Cl 7 .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
The Scintillator material of claim 4 , wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 3 at % of M is Ce (x=0.03, approximately).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The Scintillator material of claim 4 , where in A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce and Gd.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The Scintillator material of claim 7 , wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The Scintillator material of claim 8 , wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 3 at % of M is Ce (x=0.03, approximately).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
The scintillator material of claim 7 , having a light output of at least about five times that of BGO when excited with a gamma-ray of 662 keV.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The scintillator material of claim 4 , having a light output of at least about five times that of BGO when excited with a gamma-ray of 662 keV.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
52 words
A radiation detector, comprising: a scintillator material of claim 1 adapted to generate photons in response to an impinging radiation; and a photon detector optically coupled to the scintillator material, arranged to receive the photons generated by the scintillator material and adapted to generate an electrical signal indicative of the photon generation.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
57 words
An imaging method, comprising: using at least one radiation detector of claim 12 to receive radiation from a plurality of radiation sources distributed in an object to be imaged and generate a plurality of signals indicative of the received radiation; and based on the plurality of signals, deriving a special distribution of an attribute of the object.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of making a scintillator material, the method comprising: synthesizing a compound having a composition of the formula A 3 MCl 6 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce, and Gd, wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately); and growing a single crystal of the formula A 3 MCl 6 from the synthesized compound using Bridgman method.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of making a scintillator material, the method comprising: synthesizing a compound having a composition of the formula A 3 MCl 6 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce, and Gd, wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately); and growing a single crystal of the formula A 3 MCl 6 from the synthesized compound using Bridgman method.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 14 , where in the synthesizing step comprises heating a mixture of a plurality of chlorides above their respective melting temperatures.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of making a scintillator material, the method comprising: synthesizing a compound having a composition of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce, Gd, wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately); and growing a single crystal of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 from the synthesized compound using Bridgman method.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of making a scintillator material, the method comprising: synthesizing a compound having a composition of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 , wherein A consists essentially of Cs, and M consists essentially of Ce, Gd, wherein Ce is present at a concentration such that about 1-10 at % of M is Ce (0.01≦x≦0.1, approximately); and growing a single crystal of the formula AM 2 Cl 7 from the synthesized compound using Bridgman method.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16 , where in the synthesizing step comprises heating a mixture of a plurality of chlorides above their respective melting temperatures.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
52 words
A radiation detector, comprising: a scintillator material of claim 4 adapted to generate photons in response to an impinging radiation; and a photon detector optically coupled to the scintillator material, arranged to receive the photons generated by the scintillator material and adapted to generate an electrical signal indicative of the photon generation.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
57 words
An imaging method, comprising: using at least one radiation detector of claim 18 to receive radiation from a plurality of radiation sources distributed in an object to be imaged and generate a plurality of signals indicative of the received radiation; and based on the plurality of signals, deriving a special distribution of an attribute of the object.
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