Thermo-responsive Dy3+ doped oxyfluoride glass for X-ray scintillator

Abstract

Modern detection systems require scintillators with multimodal functionality that combines X-ray imaging with ancillary sensing capabilities, especially for real-time temperature monitoring. Here, Dy³⁺ doped oxyfluoride glass scintillator capable of simultaneous X-ray imaging and temperature sensing was developed. Efficient photoluminescence and radioluminescence were achieved via Gd³⁺→Dy³⁺ energy transfer. For temperature sensing, fluorescence intensity ratio analysis demonstrates outstanding temperature sensitivity (1.61%K⁻¹ under 348 nm excitation and 1.42%K⁻¹ under X-ray excitation @ 303 K). For X-ray imaging, the optimal scintillator sample exhibits strong X-ray excited luminescence intensity reaching 65.9% of that of Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂. Notably, it demonstrates ideal X-ray responsivity (R² = 99.99%) and achieves exceptional 26.8 lp/mm resolution, which is higher than prior Dy³⁺ doped glasses. These findings indicate that Dy³⁺ doped oxyfluoride glass has potential in simultaneous high-resolution X-ray imaging and non-contact temperature sensing.