Synergistic enhancement of crystallinity and transparency in Tb 3+-doped nano-glass-ceramics for high-resolution X-ray imaging

Although glass-ceramic (GC) scintillators offer improved performance by combining the advantages of both glass and crystalline materials, it is still challenging to achieve an optimal balance between crystallinity and transparency through in-situ crystallization in glass. In order to address this problem, this work proposes a comprehensive strategy of regulating heat treatment temperature, adjusting the amount of raw materials for precipitated nanocrystals, and modifying the glass network structure. Taking NaLuF₄: Tb³⁺-based GC as an example, the results show that optimal conditions, including a heat treatment at 700 °C, a total molar percentage of 31.33 % for NaF, LuF₃, and TbF₃, and a Si/Al ratio of 5.09, yield a GC with 58 % crystallinity and 90 % transmittance at 542 nm, which are notably superior to most of other reported high-performance oxyfluoride GCs. The corresponding light yield, detection limit, and image resolution are 10,200 photons×MeV^-1, 1.26 nGy×s^-1, and 25.3 lp×mm^-1, respectively, with the resolution exceeding values reported for most fluoride glass- and GC-based scintillators. These findings provide valuable insights into designing high-performance GC scintillators with high crystallinity and transmittance.