(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,437,336 B1 Pauwels Et Al
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USOO6437336B1 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,437,336 B1 Pauwels et al. (45) Date of Patent: Aug. 20, 2002 (54) SCINTILLATOR CRYSTALS AND THEIR 4,473.513 A 9/1984 Cusano et al. ............... 264/1.2 APPLICATIONS AND MANUEACTURING 4,525,628 A 6/1985 DiBianca et al. ........... 250/367 PROCESS 4,783,596 A 11/1988 Riedner et al. .......... 250/483.1 4,958,080 A 9/1990 Melcher .................. 250/483.1 5,660,627 A 8/1997 Manente et al. .............. 117/13 (75) Inventors: Damien Pauwels, Evry; Bruno Viana, 6,093,347 A 7/2000 Lynch et al. ............. 252/301.4 Montgeron; Andree Kahn-Harari, Paris, all of (FR); Pieter Dorenbos, OTHER PUBLICATIONS GM Rijswijk; Carel Wilhelm Eduard Lempicki, A. et al., “Ce-doped scintillators: LSO and Van Eijk, LS Delft, both of (NL) LuAP” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A416, pp. 333-344, 1998. (73) Assignee: Crismatec (FR) Saoudi, A. et al., “IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.” (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 46:6, pp. 1925–1928, 1999. patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Primary Examiner-Georgia Epps U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. Assistant Examiner Richard Hanig (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Pennie & Edmonds LLP (21) Appl. No.: 09/686,972 (57) ABSTRACT (22) Filed: Oct. 12, 2000 A monoclinic Single crystal with a lutetium pyrosilicate Related U.S. Application Data structure is described. The crystal is formed by crystalliza (60) Provisional application No. 60/225,400, filed on Aug. 15, tion from a congruent molten composition of LU2-M. 2000. SiO, where LU is lutetium or a lutetium-based alloy which also includes one or more of Scandium, ytterbium, indium, (51) Int. Cl." ............................ G01J 1/58; CO9K11/79 lanthanum, and gadolinium; where M is cerium or cerium (52) U.S. Cl. ............................... 250/361 R; 250/483.1; partially substituted with one or more of the elements of the 252/301.4 F lanthanide family excluding lutetium; and where X is defined (58) Field of Search .......................... 250/361 R, 483.1; by the limiting level of LU substitution with M in a 252/301.4 F monoclinic crystal of the lutetium pyrosilicate Structure. The LU alloy should contain greater than about 75 weight (56) References Cited percent lutetium. The crystals exhibit excellent and repro U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS ducible Scintillation response to gamma radiation. 4,421,671 A 12/1983 Cusano et al. ........... 252/301.4 33 Claims, No Drawings US 6,437,336 B1 1 2 SCINTILLATOR CRYSTALS AND THEIR growing Such a crystal formed the Subject-matter of U.S. APPLICATIONS AND MANUEACTURING Pat. No. 5,660,627. Although the scintillation properties of PROCESS the crystals of this family are excellent, they do have a major drawback with regard to reproducibility, which has a nega This application claims priority from provisional appli tive impact on the development of their use. This is because cation No. 60/225,400, filed Aug. 15, 2000. the results of Scintillation properties between two crystals of the same composition may vary very considerably as FIELD OF THE INVENTION indicated, for example, by the following publications: "Ce doped scintillators: LSO and LuAP” (A. Lempicki and J. The present invention relates to Scintillator crystals, to a Glodo, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics manufacturing process allowing them to be obtained and to Research A416 (1998), 333-344) and “Scintillation Light the use of the Said crystals, especially in gamma-ray and/or Emission Studies of LSO Scintillators” (A. Saoudi et al., X-ray detectors. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 46, No. 6, BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION December 1999). These authors indicated in particular the 15 difficulties of using LSO Owing to very large variations in A Scintillator crystal is a crystal which is transparent in the the Scintillation properties of LSO Single crystals from one Scintillation wavelength range which responds to incident crystal to another, even when they are cut from the same radiation by emitting a light pulse. Scintillator crystals are ingot. widely used in detectors for gamma-ray, X-rays, cosmic rays Another drawback with LSO relates to its high melting and particles whose energy is of the order of 1 keV and point, about 2200 C. and this means that the process greater. From Such crystals it is possible to manufacture allowing Such a crystal to be obtained requires high tem detectors in which the light emitted by the crystal that the peratures. detector comprises is coupled to a light-detection means and The latest Scintillator compositions employ at least one of produces an electrical Signal proportional to the number of the oxides of lutetium, yttrium and gadolinium as matrix light pulses received and to their intensity. In Scintillation 25 materials. These are described in detail, for example, in U.S. devices the detector is generally a Single Scintillator crystal. Pat. Nos. 4,421,671, 4,473.513, 4,525,628, 4,783,596, and Solid State Scintillator crystals are in common use as 6,093,347. These crystals typically comprise a major pro components of radiation detectors in X-ray detection appa portion of yttria (i.e., YO), up to about 50 mole percent ratuS Such as counters, image intensifiers and computerized gadolinia (Gd2O) and a minor activating proportion of a tomography (CT) Scanners. Such detectors are used espe rare earth activator oxide. Suitable activator oxides, as cially in the fields of nuclear medicine, physics, chemistry described in the aforementioned patents, include the oxides and oil well logging. One embodiment of the present gen of europium, neodymium, ytterbium, dysprosium, terbium eration of Scintillators comprises oxide mixtures in which a and praseodymium. Europium-activated Scintillators are rare earth oxide is present as an activator, along with various often used in commercial X-ray detectors by reason of their combined matrix elements which are also usually rare earth 35 high luminescent efficiency, and low afterglow level. Decay oxides. Other combined metals may also be present as times of Such Scintillators are on the order of 0.9–1.0 additives for Specific purposes. These Scintillators have been millisecond. characterized by the advantageous properties of high The Search thus continues for Scintillator compositions efficiency, moderate decay time, low afterglow and little or having improved properties. no radiation damage upon exposure to high X-ray doses. 40 A family of known Scintillator crystals widely used is of SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION the thallium-doped sodium iodide, or NaI:Tl, type. Crystals The object of the present invention is to alleviate these of the NaI:Tl family have a low density and therefore a low drawbacks and to propose a novel family of Scintillator detection efficiency for certain types of high-energy radia crystals whose Scintillation properties are of the same order tion; they also have hygroscopic problems. 45 of magnitude as those of LSO crystals, wherein the property Another family of Scintillator crystals is of the barium variations from one crystal to another of the same compo fluoride (BaF)type. Crystals of the BaF2 family are not very Sition are very much less than the property variations from dense and their rapid emission component lies within the one LSO crystal to another of the same composition. ultraViolet range, which means the use of expensive photo 50 One crystal according to the invention is a monoclinic detectors in Scintillation devices. Single crystal obtained by crystallization of a congruent Another family of Scintillator crystals which has under molten composition of general formula: gone considerable development is of the bismuth germanate (BGO) type. Crystals of the BGO family have a long where LU is selected from lutetium, or a lutetium-based Scintillation decay time which limits the use of Such crystals 55 alloy which also includes one or more of the elements Sc, Y, to low counting rates. In, La, Gd, where M is cerium, or cerium partially Substi A more recent family of Scintillator crystals was devel tuted with one or more of the elements of the lanthanide oped in the 1980s and is of the cerium-activated gadolinium family (excluding lutetium); and where X is a variable orthosilicate (GSO) type. Crystals of the GSO family have defined by the limiting level of Lu Substitution with M in a a low optical yield and a strong tendency to cleave, which 60 monoclinic crystal of the lutetium pyrosilicate (LPS) struc makes them extremely difficult to prepare. ture. A new family of crystals was developed at the end of the 1980s in order to obtain scintillator crystals having a high DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE light yield, short luminescence decay times and a high INVENTION detection efficiency: these crystals are of the cerium 65 One crystal according to the invention is a monoclinic activated lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) type and formed Single crystal obtained by crystallization of a congruent the subject-matter of U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,080. A method of molten composition of general formula: US 6,437,336 B1 3 4 Without being theory, it may be considered that the where LU is selected from lutetium, or a lutetium-based excellent Scintillation results and the good reproducibility alloy which also includes one or more of the elements Sc, Y, which are observed in LPS single crystals may be due to the In, La, Gd, where M is cerium, or cerium partially Substi presence of insertion sites of a Single type in the lutetium tuted with one or more of the elements of the lanthanide pyrosilicate Structure, whereas the heterogeneity problems family (excluding lutetium); and where X is a variable in the LSO crystals are especially due to the possible defined by the limiting level of Lu Substitution with M in a presence of several insertion sites for the cerium in the LSO monoclinic crystal of the lutetium pyrosilicate (LPS) struc Structure.