Synergistic enhancement of crystallinity and transparency in Tb3+-doped nano-glass-ceramics for high-resolution X-ray imaging

Researchers have been intensively developing novel X-ray scintillators that exhibit excellent X-ray absorption, high light yield, enduring physical/chemical stability, and robust radiation resistance. Valued for their transparency, stability, and excellent machinability, glass scintillators can be readily processed into any shape and size, including optical fibers, to meet to diverse device requirements. However, their persistently low light yield limits practical applications.

Recently, glass-ceramic scintillators have attract increasing attention by combining the advantages of glass with the superior light yield of crystals. Nevertheless, achieving a glass-ceramic with simultaneously high crystallinity and transmittance through in-situ crystallization of precursor glass remains challenging.

Addressing this challenge, a research team led by Professor Daqin Chen at Fujian Normal University, China, recently reported a comprehensive strategy involving precise regulation of heat treatment temperature, optimization of raw material composition for precipitated nanocrystals, and modification of the glass network structure. Taking NaLuF₄: Tb³⁺-based GC as an example, the results show that optimal conditions, including a heat treatment at 700 °C, a total molar percentage of 31.33 % for NaF, LuF₃, and TbF₃, and a Si/Al ratio of 5.09, yield a GC with 58 % crystallinity and 90 % transmittance at 542 nm, which are notably superior to most of other reported high-performance oxyfluoride GCs. The corresponding light yield, detection limit, and image resolution are 10,200 photons×MeV^-1, 1.26 nGy×s^-1, and 25.3 lp×mm^-1, respectively, with the resolution exceeding values reported for most fluoride glass- and GC-based scintillators.

This work was published in the Journal of Advanced Ceramics on July 9, 2025.

“By demonstrating that high crystallinity and transparency can coexist through in-situ crystallization, we've provided valuable insights into designing high-performance GC scintillators with high crystallinity and transmittance.” said Prof. Chen

Other contributors include Tao Pang, Shisheng Lin, Fengluan You, Rujian Gu, Ke Xie, Dahai Hu, Guoyu Xi, Huaxiang Qiu, Feng Huang from the College of Physics and Energy at Fujian Normal University, China; Lei Lei from the Institute of Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, China Jiliang University, China; Lingwei Zeng from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, China.

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12304442, 52272141, 51972060, 12074068, 52102159, and 22103013), Professional Development Program for University Teachers in Zhejiang Province (No. FX2024075), and Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (Nos. 2024J02014, 2022J05091, 2021J06021, and 2021J01190). 

About Author

Daqin Chen received his Ph.D. degree from from Fujian Institure of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is currently a Full Professor in College of Physics and Energy at Fujian Normal University. His research focuses on rare earth luminescent materials and quantum dot materials. He has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, receiving approximately 20000 citations with an H-index of 85. He holds more than 30 authorized Chinese invention patents and has contributed three book chapters. 

He has led several major research initiatives, including projects and sub-projects under the National Key R&D Program of China, grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Outstanding Youth Fund of Fujian and Zhejiang Province, and the Key Program of the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province. He also serves as an Associate Editor of J. Am. Ceram. Soc. and as a member of the Editorial Committee for J Adv. Ceram.

About Journal of Advanced Ceramics

Journal of Advanced Ceramics (JAC) is an international academic journal that presents the state-of-the-art results of theoretical and experimental studies on the processing, structure, and properties of advanced ceramics and ceramic-based composites. JAC is Fully Open Access, monthly published by Tsinghua University Press, and exclusively available via SciOpen. JAC’s 2024 IF is 16.6, ranking in Top 1 (1/33, Q1) among all journals in “Materials Science, Ceramics” category, and its 2024 CiteScore is 25.9 (5/130) in Scopus database. ResearchGate homepage: https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Journal-of-Advanced-Ceramics-2227-8508