Use of YAP(Ce) in the development of high spatial resolution radiation imaging detectors

A scintillator with a high light output is considered to be required for the development of high spatial resolution radiation imaging detectors. In contrast to this scientific consensus, we found that high spatial resolution images can be obtained using a medium light output scintillator comprising cerium-doped yttrium aluminum perovskite, YA1O₃ (YAP(Ce)). We evaluated the performance of a radiation imaging detector comprising a 0.5 mm thick YAP(Ce) plate, which was optically coupled to a 25.4 mm (1-inch) square position-sensitive photomultiplier. The Anger principle was used to calculate the radiation positions. The spatial resolution and energy resolution for the imaging detector with 5.5 MeV alpha particles were 0.25 mm full width at half-maximum (FWHM) and 7.4% FWHM, respectively. The spatial resolutions for 60 keV gamma photons and ∼32 keV X-rays were ∼0.6 mm FWHM and ∼0.8 mm FWHM, respectively. The spatial resolution of the detector when imaging beta particles at a maximum energy of 254 keV was less than 0.6 mm FWHM. We conclude that YAP(Ce) is a promising scintillator for developing high spatial resolution and high energy resolution radiation detectors for imaging alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma photons.