Cerium Bromide Single-Crystal X-Ray Detection and Spectral Compatibility Assessment with Various Optical Sensors

Abstract

Scintillators with high light yield (LY) values are of interest for medical imaging applications, in harsh environments, nondestructive testing (NDT), etc. CeBr₃ has a LY of 60000 photons per MeV, a value much higher than other efficient materials, such as Lu₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce (25000 photons/MeV); thus, its X-ray detection properties would be of interest to be examined for medical imaging applications. The X-ray detection and absorption properties of a single crystal CeBr₃ sample along with the compatibility of its produced light with various optoelectronic sensors were examined. In this study, the quantum detection (QDE) and the energy absorption efficiency (EAE) of CeBr₃ were calculated. The findings were compared with data for 10 × 10 × 10 mm³ Lu₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce and CaF₂:Eu single crystals. The measured optical spectrum produced by CeBr₃ was well correlated with the spectral response of commercial optical sensors, yielding spectral matching higher than 93% for various photocathodes, e.g., GaAs (94%), E-S20 (95%), and bialkali and multialkali (95-97%), as well as with flat panel position-sensitive photomultipliers (95-99%). The energy absorption properties of CeBr₃ were found higher than those of Lu₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce and CaF₂:Eu for X-ray tube voltages greater than 100 kVp. The quantum detection efficiency was 100% across the examined energy range. Even though CeBr₃ is hygroscopic and has a mediocre 5.1 g/cm³ density, the QDE, EAE, and spectral correlation results are promising for medical imaging applications.