Abstract

We present the characterization of two fast, crystalline inorganic scintillators, silicon-doped gallium nitride (GaN:Si) and gallium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga), and compare their performance with cerium-doped yttrium aluminium perovskite (YAP:Ce) for in-vacuum alpha-detection applications that require high-performance timing, position, and energy resolution, such as 3D elemental mapping, medical imaging, and homeland security applications. In this paper, we propose ZnO:Ga and GaN:Si as high-performance drop-in replacements for the alpha detector in Associated Particle Imaging (API) systems. We present room-temperature scintillation time constants obtained via X-ray-induced time-correlated single-photon counting for both proposed materials. They both exhibit exceedingly fast rise times of ≤15 ps, and high brightness ≥1000 ph/MeVα with resolved alpha-peaks. Single-crystal ZnO:Ga and single-crystal GaN:Si yield single-component decays of 805 ps and 32 ps respectively. Using a plastic scintillator reference setup, coincidence timing resolution (CTR) and detector timing resolution (DTR) measurements demonstrate a ≥3× improvement in timing resolution compared to traditional YAP:Ce. GaN:Si and ZnO:Ga exhibit (35 ± 9) ps and (49 ± 5) ps DTR respectively, compared to (144 ± 2) ps for conventional, single-crystal YAP:Ce. Finally, we evaluate their position resolution in an experimental setup designed for API and measure better than 0.2 mm for YAP:Ce and approximately 1 mm for GaN:Si. We obtain a position resolution of 0.3 mm for ZnO:Ga from simulations. We also present alpha-induced ionoluminescence emission spectra that reveal direct, red-shifted near-bandgap emission.

Abstract

We present the characterization of two fast, crystalline inorganic scintillators, silicon-doped gallium nitride (GaN:Si) and gallium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga), and compare their performance with cerium-doped yttrium aluminium perovskite (YAP:Ce) for in-vacuum alpha-detection applications that require high-performance timing, position, and energy resolution, such as 3D elemental mapping, medical imaging, and homeland security applications. In this paper, we propose ZnO:Ga and GaN:Si as high-performance drop-in replacements for the alpha detector in Associated Particle Imaging (API) systems. We present room-temperature scintillation time constants obtained via X-ray-induced time-correlated single-photon counting for both proposed materials. They both exhibit exceedingly fast rise times of ≤15 ps, and high brightness ≥1000 ph/MeVα with resolved alpha-peaks. Single-crystal ZnO:Ga and single-crystal GaN:Si yield single-component decays of 805 ps and 32 ps respectively. Using a plastic scintillator reference setup, coincidence timing resolution (CTR) and detector timing resolution (DTR) measurements demonstrate a ≥3× improvement in timing resolution compared to traditional YAP:Ce. GaN:Si and ZnO:Ga exhibit (35 ± 9) ps and (49 ± 5) ps DTR respectively, compared to (144 ± 2) ps for conventional, single-crystal YAP:Ce. Finally, we evaluate their position resolution in an experimental setup designed for API and measure better than 0.2 mm for YAP:Ce and approximately 1 mm for GaN:Si. We obtain a position resolution of 0.3 mm for ZnO:Ga from simulations. We also present alpha-induced ionoluminescence emission spectra that reveal direct, red-shifted near-bandgap emission.

Abstract

We present the characterization of two fast, crystalline inorganic scintillators, silicon-doped gallium nitride (GaN:Si) and gallium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga), and compare their performance with cerium-doped yttrium aluminium perovskite (YAP:Ce) for in-vacuum alpha-detection applications that require high-performance timing, position, and energy resolution, such as 3D elemental mapping, medical imaging, and homeland security applications. In this paper, we propose ZnO:Ga and GaN:Si as high-performance drop-in replacements for the alpha detector in Associated Particle Imaging (API) systems. We present room-temperature scintillation time constants obtained via X-ray-induced time-correlated single-photon counting for both proposed materials. They both exhibit exceedingly fast rise times of ≤15 ps, and high brightness ≥1000 ph/MeVα with resolved alpha-peaks. Single-crystal ZnO:Ga and single-crystal GaN:Si yield single-component decays of 805 ps and 32 ps respectively. Using a plastic scintillator reference setup, coincidence timing resolution (CTR) and detector timing resolution (DTR) measurements demonstrate a ≥3× improvement in timing resolution compared to traditional YAP:Ce. GaN:Si and ZnO:Ga exhibit (35 ± 9) ps and (49 ± 5) ps DTR respectively, compared to (144 ± 2) ps for conventional, single-crystal YAP:Ce. Finally, we evaluate their position resolution in an experimental setup designed for API and measure better than 0.2 mm for YAP:Ce and approximately 1 mm for GaN:Si. We obtain a position resolution of 0.3 mm for ZnO:Ga from simulations. We also present alpha-induced ionoluminescence emission spectra that reveal direct, red-shifted near-bandgap emission.

Abstract

We present the characterization of two fast, crystalline inorganic scintillators, silicon-doped gallium nitride (GaN:Si) and gallium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga), and compare their performance with cerium-doped yttrium aluminium perovskite (YAP:Ce) for in-vacuum alpha-detection applications that require high-performance timing, position, and energy resolution, such as 3D elemental mapping, medical imaging, and homeland security applications. In this paper, we propose ZnO:Ga and GaN:Si as high-performance drop-in replacements for the alpha detector in Associated Particle Imaging (API) systems. We present room-temperature scintillation time constants obtained via X-ray-induced time-correlated single-photon counting for both proposed materials. They both exhibit exceedingly fast rise times of ≤15 ps, and high brightness ≥1000 ph/MeVα with resolved alpha-peaks. Single-crystal ZnO:Ga and single-crystal GaN:Si yield single-component decays of 805 ps and 32 ps respectively. Using a plastic scintillator reference setup, coincidence timing resolution (CTR) and detector timing resolution (DTR) measurements demonstrate a ≥3× improvement in timing resolution compared to traditional YAP:Ce. GaN:Si and ZnO:Ga exhibit (35 ± 9) ps and (49 ± 5) ps DTR respectively, compared to (144 ± 2) ps for conventional, single-crystal YAP:Ce. Finally, we evaluate their position resolution in an experimental setup designed for API and measure better than 0.2 mm for YAP:Ce and approximately 1 mm for GaN:Si. We obtain a position resolution of 0.3 mm for ZnO:Ga from simulations. We also present alpha-induced ionoluminescence emission spectra that reveal direct, red-shifted near-bandgap emission.