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THE SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
on Thursday, November 7, 2019
2:00 PM
in MRDC 4211
will be held the
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
for
Christian Struebing
"Design, Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of Rare-Earth Doped Glass and Glass-Ceramic Scintillators"
Committee Members:
Prof. Zhitao Kang, Advisor, GTRI
Prof. Christopher Summers, Advisor, MSE
Prof. Jason Nadler, GTRI
Prof. Zhiqun Lin, MSE
Brent Wagner, Ph.D., GTRI
Abstract:
Single crystal scintillators have been the premier choice for gamma ray detecting scintillating applications due to the high luminescent efficiency and sharp energy resolutions. However, the production method for such materials is often time-consuming and the end product often suffers from vulnerability to mechanical shock, high temperatures, and atmospheric moisture. Industries have been searching for lower cost alternatives to single crystal scintillators in order to make more portable devices practical.
Glass and glass-ceramic scintillators have gained attention for their lower production cost, scalability, and ease of shaping to fit complex geometries and a lack of the vulnerabilities to hygroscopicity, mechanical shock, and high temperature exposure. The main issue holding glass and glass-ceramic scintillators back has been the low luminescent efficiency. Glass-ceramics combine the robust resilience of glass with the luminescent capabilities of crystalline nanoparticles by precipitating nano-sized crystals within the glass matrix. This study approaches the field of glass and glass-ceramic based scintillators with rare-earth rich, high density compositions modeled after known crystal systems in order to produce a glass ceramic scintillator that could compete with single crystals.
