Recent advances in columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator screens

Columnar CsI(Tl) screens are now routinely used in indirect digital x ray imaging detectors. The CsI(Tl) scintillator provides high density, high atomic number, and high scintillation efficiency. These properties, coupled with the fact that CsI(Tl) can be grown in columnar form, provide excellent spatial resolution, high x-ray absorption, and low noise resulting in detectors with high overall detective quantum efficiency (DQE(f)). While such screens are now commercially available, developments leading to further improvements in scintillator performance are ongoing at RMD. Here we report on the recent progress in developing very thin (10 μm) to very thick (~3 mm) columnar screens and discuss their application potential in digital radiology and nuclear medicine.

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