Ultrafast Inorganic Scintillators for Gigahertz Hard X-Ray Imaging

Gigahertz hard X-ray imaging for the proposed matter-radiation interaction in extreme project presents an unprecedented challenge to front imager in both speed and radiation hardness. Novel fast scintillators are to be developed to face these challenges. This paper presents an investigation on the optical and scintillation properties for a set of fast inorganic scintillators. Transmittance, emission, light output, and decay time were measured. Based on this investigation, we plan to take two approaches to develop inorganic scintillators with subnanoseconds of decay time for the gigahertz hard X-ray imaging. One is yttrium-doped barium fluoride single crystals, and another is based on gallium-doped ZnO nanoparticles.