Development of thallium bromide semiconductor detectors for whole-body PET scanners

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22360035
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied physics, general
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: HITOMI KEITARO 東北大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (60382660)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: PET / 半導体検出器 / 化合物半導体 / ガンマ線検出器 / 臭化タリウム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Thallium bromide (TlBr) semiconductor detectors were developed for whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. Large volume TlBr crystals were grown successfully and technologies for stable fabrication of 5 mm × 5 mm × 5 mm TlBr detectors were established in this study. The developed TlBr detector exhibited a timing resolution of 6.5 ns. The TlBr detectors operated stably for 48 hours at room temperature and the result indicates that the TlBr detectors have sufficient stability as gamma-ray detectors for PET scanners. The TlBr detector exhibited the best energy resolution of 1.1% FWHM for 662-keV gamma rays at room temperature. The TlBr detectors developed in this study are very promising not only for PET applications but also for other advanced gamma-ray applications.

Free Research Field

工学