Premium
Hot‐Pressing Method to Consolidate Gd 3 ( Al , Ga ) 5 O 12 : Ce Garnet Scintillator Powder for use in an X ‐ray CT Detector
Author(s) -
Kanai Tsuneyuki,
Satoh Makoto,
Miura Ichiro
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of applied ceramic technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.4
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1744-7402
pISSN - 1546-542X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7402.2012.02799.x
Subject(s) - scintillator , materials science , gallium , graphite , metallurgy , physics , optics , detector
We have developed a hot‐pressing method for consolidating garnet scintillator powder of composition Gd 3 ( Al , Ga ) 5 O 12 : Ce . Thermodynamic analysis revealed that gallium oxide, which was a constituent of the garnet scintillator powder, would react with the graphite mold beginning at 950°C and would be reduced to gallium metal. To prevent this reaction during hot‐pressing, a reaction barrier material was placed between the graphite mold and the scintillator powder. As for the reaction barrier material, 3 Gd AlO 3 – Al 2 O 3 powder calcined at 1100°C was found to be suitable because the material provided two important characteristics: the same thermal expansion coefficient as the scintillator material and good sinterability. The Gd 3 ( Al , Ga ) 5 O 12 :Ce garnet scintillator powder was hot pressed at 1475°C for 4 h in vacuum, followed by annealing at 1300°C for 4 h in oxygen atmosphere. The thus obtained garnet scintillator successfully satisfied the necessary requirements for use in an X ‐ray computed tomography detector.