A new X-ray scintillator for digital radiography

We report a new scintillator based on a transparent ceramic of Lu/sub 2/O/sub 3/:Eu. The material has an extremely high density of 9.4 g/cm/sup 3/ and a light output comparable to CsI:Tl. Its narrow band emission at 610 nm perfectly matches the spectral response of CCDs. To enhance the spatial and contrast resolution, we have developed a special process to pixelate the scintillator and prevent the spread of light within the scintillator volume. The performance of this pixelated device was thoroughly evaluated and found to equal or surpass all other currently known scintillators. The new scintillator is expected to play a major role in digital radiographic systems, when readout technologies capable of taking advantage of the transparency are developed further.