Thermally Stable Ce 3+ ‐Doped Glass Scintillators for High‐Temperature and Real‐Time Dynamic X‐ray Imaging

ABSTRACT Ce 3+ ‐doped glass scintillators, which exhibit desirable characteristics of high transmittance, exceptional structural stability, and ultra‐fast decay time, are compelling candidates in x‐ray imaging field. However, low x‐ray excited luminescence (XEL) and unsatisfactory thermal stability seriously hamper their advancement. Here, three synergistic strategies, including selecting oxyfluoride glass with low phonon energy, incorporating C powders as an effective reducing agent, and adding heavy elements, are proposed for designing Ce 3+ ‐doped glass scintillators with enhanced XEL and thermal stability. The reduction of Ce 4+ to Ce 3+ in oxyfluoride glass inhibits the self‐absorption of Ce 4+ in the blue‐ultraviolet range, resulting in a record‐breaking XEL intensity (192% of that of commercial Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 (BGO)) among Ce 3+ ‐doped glass scintillators. When applied to a scintillating screen, the optimal sample exhibits high transmittance (82% at 368 nm), a low detection limit of 4.8 µGy air /s, outstanding resolution of 20 lp/mm in static imaging, and excellent dynamic x‐ray imaging capability. Notably, the XEL intensity of the designed Ce 3+ ‐doped glass scintillator at 423 K remains 76.6% of its room‐temperature value, significantly surpassing the thermal stability of reported Ce 3+ ‐doped scintillators as well as commercial BGO and CsI:Tl. This study offers novel strategies for improving XEL intensity and thermal stability of Ce 3+ ‐doped glass scintillators.