Characterization of vapor-deposited Lu 2 O 3 :Eu3+scintillator for x-ray imaging applications

The europium-doped lutetium oxide (Lu2O3:Eu) transparent optical ceramic has excellent scintillation properties, namely very high density (9.5 g/cm3), high effective atomic number (67.3), light output comparable to thallium-doped cesium iodide (CsI:Tl), and emission wavelength (610 nm) for which silicon-based detectors have a very high quantum efficiency. If microcolumnar films of this material could be fabricated, it would find widespread use in a multitude of highspeed imaging applications. However, the high melting point of over 2400°C makes it extremely challenging to make microcolumnar films of this material. We have recently fabricated and characterized microcolumnar films of Lu2O3:Eu. These results are presented in this paper.