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.