Enhanced luminescence and scintillation performance of Ce-doped silico- and germanophosphate glasses for ultra-high resolution synchrotron X-ray imaging applications

Abstract

Ce-doped phosphate, silicophosphate and germanophosphate glasses with the composition 25Li2O+ 10ZnO+ 5Gd2O3+xR+ (59.5-x)P2O5+ 0.5CeF3 (x = 0, 10 mol%; R = SiO2 and GeO2) were prepared by the conventional melt quenching. This study highlights the novel role of network modification (SiO2 and GeO2 substitution) in enhancing the scintillation and imaging performance of Ce3 + -activated phosphate-based glasses; this topic remains inadequately researched. Structural analyses (FTIR, Raman) demonstrated that network modifications influence density and optical properties, with germanophosphate showing the highest density (3.07 g/cm3) and high transparency of around 80%. Notably, silicophosphate glass exhibits ∼12 times higher photoluminescence intensity than phosphate glass, with an experimental quantum yield of 24.8%. Under X-ray excitation, strong emission bands were observed from Gd3+ (310 nm) and Ce3+ (∼337 nm). The integrated ratio of radioluminescence (RL) emission was calculated and followed the order silicophosphate > phosphate > germanophosphate, indicating optimal luminescence enhancement via Si incorporation. The superior scintillation response of the silicophosphate glass is further validated by pulse height measurements under 241Am α-ray excitation. Silicophosphate glass was selected for its superior scintillation response, further confirmed by 2D/3D imaging and line-pair (MTF and contrast) analyses, demonstrating its suitability for ultra-high-resolution synchrotron X-ray imaging applications.