Flexible Low-dose X-ray Detector Base on YAG Crystal-derived Scintillation Silicate Fiber Doped with Ce3+, Tb3+, and Gd3+

A low-dose X-ray detector based on a novel Ce
³⁺
, Tb
³⁺
and Gd
³⁺
co-doped YAG crystal-derived scintillation fiber (CTGYCF) was demonstrated. The CTGYCF, featuring an yttrium aluminosilicate glass core and SiO
₂
cladding, was prepared using the melt-in-tube (MIT) method. The effective atomic number (
Z_eff
) of the CTGYCF core reaches 29.59, and the average insertion loss of the splicing between CTGYCF and commercial transmission quartz fiber (MMF) is 0.013 dB. The CTGYCF exhibits higher luminescence intensity under 245 nm excitation due to efficient energy transfer from Gd
³⁺
and Ce
³⁺
to Tb
³⁺
. Leveraging the CTGYCF’s high
Z_eff
, high optical-yield, and low connection-loss, the detector realized real-time monitoring of low-dose X-ray. For low-dose X-rays in the range of 1.13 to 3.06 μGy/s, the detector demonstrated an excellent linear response with an R² values of ~0.997. Its X-ray response remained highly stable as the dose rate increased from 12.24 to 30.74 μGy/s. Given its performance, the CTGYCF-based detector shows great potential for remote real-time monitoring of low-dose X-ray in inaccessible or hazardous environments.