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Because of its high light output, Gd2O2 S:Tb (P43) phosphor powder is widely used in scintillator detectors for scanning transmission soft X-ray microscopy. However, the long decay time (>1 ms) of P43 phosphor powder limits the image scanning speed. Inorganic scintillators such as YAG:Ce are very suitable for fast scanning imaging due to their short decay time (tens of nanoseconds). Nevertheless, its light output is lower than that of P43 phosphor powder. Patterning photonic crystals (PhCs) on the output surface of an inorganic scintillator is a simple and efficient method to enhance its light output. In this article, we use a soft X-ray interference lithography technique to produce a large-area pattern of nanoscale PhCs on a 200-μm-thickness and 1-in-diameter YAG:Ce scintillator. Measurement of the enhancement ratio was performed on the soft X-ray beamline (BL08U1A) at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The results show that the light output of the PhC-patterned YAG:Ce scintillator with air coupling is approximately 2.8 times higher than that of the unpatterned YAG:Ce scintillator. Meanwhile, the time-resolved emission with optical excitation showed that the PhC structures did not affect the spontaneous emission rate in the internal of scintillator crystal. This enhancement of the light output indicates that the PhC-patterned YAG:Ce scintillator is a good candidate for soft X-ray detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gd 2 O 2 S:Tb (P43) powder was widely used in soft X-ray detection due to its high light yield. Compared with P43, GAGG:Ce scintillator has high light transmittance, fast decay time and strong radiation resistance. Photonic crystals (PhCs) can be used to enhance the light output of scintillator. In this paper, two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals that consist of square arrays of air holes etched into TiO 2 layer were fabricated on the exit surface of GAGG:Ce scintillator to enhance its light output. The luminescence spectra and the light output of GAGG:Ce scintillator with/without PhCs were measured at the BL08U1A beamline of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The results showed that the light output of GAGG:Ce scintillator with PhCs can be enhanced by a factor of 1.43 times compared with the reference GAGG:Ce scintillator, 2.35 times compared with YAG:Ce scintillator, 1.24 times compared with Gd 2 O 2 S:Tb scintillation ceramic and 0.76 times compared with P43 powder layer with the mass thickness of about 1.3mg/cm 2 with optical grease coupling. No significant change was observed in luminescence decay time between GAGG:Ce scintillator with and without PhCs. It makes GAGG:Ce scintillator with PhCs a promising material instead of P43 powder and YAG:Ce scintillator in soft X-ray detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Laser chemical vapor deposition can significantly increase deposition rates. • The use of sapphire substrate helps to reduce thermal stress. • Micro-columnar film achieves high spatial resolution without reducing thickness. • The film in synchrotron radiation X-ray detection shows sub-micrometer resolution. Lu 2 O 3 :Eu scintillation film is one of the most attractive candidate for the hard X-ray imaging, especially for sub-micrometer spatial resolution X-ray detectors. This study was focused on the preparation and characterization of Lu 2 O 3 :Eu structured scintillation film on (0 0 1) sapphire substrate by laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD). The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurement shows that the film with thicknesses of 3 μm is oriented along the (4 1 1) direction. The morphology and luminescent properties, including photoluminescence excitation (PLE), photoluminescence (PL) and PL decay, were measured and discussed. The sub-micrometer spatial resolution was obtained at BL13W1 station at Shanghai synchrotron radiation facility (SSRF). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]