Tb3+-doped borosilicate glass scintillators for high-resolution X-ray imaging

Scintillators are the vital component in X-ray perspective image technology that is applied in medical imaging, industrial nondestructive testing, and safety testing. But the high cost and small size of single-crystal commercialized scintillators limit their practical application. Here, a series of Tb3+-doped borosilicate glass (BSG) scintillators with big production size, low cost, and high spatial resolution are designed and fabricated. The structural, photoluminescent, and scintillant properties are systematically investigated. Benefiting from excellent transmittance (87% at 600 nm), high interquantum efficiency (60.7%), and high X-ray excited luminescence (217% of Bi4Ge3O12), the optimal sample shows superhigh spatial resolution (exceeding 20 lp/mm). This research suggests that Tb3+-doped BSG scintillators have potential applications in the static X-ray imaging field.