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

Although glass-ceramic (GC) scintillators offer improved performance by combining the advantages of both glass and crystalline materials, achieving an optimal balance between crystallinity and transparency through in situ crystallization in glass is still challenging. To address this problem, this work proposes a comprehensive strategy for regulating the heat treatment temperature, adjusting the amount of raw materials for precipitated nanocrystals, and modifying the glass network structure. Taking NaLuF₄:Tb³⁺-based GC as an example, the results show that optimal conditions, including 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 GC with 58% crystallinity and 90% transmittance at 542 nm, which are notably superior to those of most other reported high-performance oxyfluoride GC. 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. These findings provide valuable insights into the design of high-performance GC scintillators with high crystallinity and transmittance.