Seminar: Development of New Scintillators and their Integration into Detectors and Imaging Systems

Abstract

This presentation will describe several new scintillators for gamma spectroscopy and imaging radiography being developed by LLNL and our partners.  Over the past ten years, our team has identified new scintillators that can provide higher resolution gamma spectroscopy than Thallium-doped Sodium Iodide. We started with high-risk discovery efforts, down-selected among candidates, and are now progressing into scale-up, reproducible production and integration into devices. Prototype gamma spectrometers based on Europium-doped Strontium Iodide, SrI2(Eu), transparent ceramic Cerium-doped Gadolinium Garnet, GYGAG(Ce), and Bismuth-loaded plastic will be described.  For imaging applications, Lutetium-based ceramics and Lithium-loaded, high light yield plastics will be presented.  Lutetium-based transparent ceramics improve X-radiography throughput and spatial resolution, due to their higher light yields, stopping power and radiation hardness, compared to scintillator glass or single crystals such as Cadmium Tungstate.  Similarly, higher light yield plastic scintillators offer potential to improve resolution and throughput for high energy neutron radiography.

About the Speaker

Nerine Cherepy earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, utilizing laser spectroscopy to study energy and electron transfer.  After postdoctoral work at the University of California, Santa Cruz on ultrafast laser spectroscopy, she joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  Since 2005, she has worked on the development of new scintillator materials including transparent ceramics, plastics and single crystals for high energy radiation detection and imaging.  She has two R&D 100 awards, 11 patents, more than 100 published papers, and she is a co-recipient of DHS’s Award for Excellence in Scintillator Discovery.  She is a Senior Member of IEEE and SPIE.

Hosted by Professor Lei R. Cao