New LSO based scintillators

Cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) is amongst the most promising new scintillators discovered in almost five decades, with a unique combinat ion of important properties for x and gamma-ray spectroscopy, namely: high density, fast decay, and large light yield. LSO seems to be a prime candida te to replace EGO in PET systems. However, the practical utilization of LSO is hindered by difficulties related to crystal growth (Czochralski method) due to the high temperatures employed. A new approach has been developed u sing a low-temperature crystal growth technology to produce scintillating L SO crystals. Light transparent polycrystalline LSO samples of a few mm(3) i n volume were grown and characterized by XRD, optical absorption, light dec ay measurement and gamma-ray spectral response. The properties of the new c rystals compared well with high-quality crystals grown by the Czochralski m ethod.