Photonic crystal scintillators and methods of manufacture

摘要

Photonic crystal scintillators and their methods of manufacture are provided. Exemplary methods of manufacture include using a highly-ordered porous anodic alumina membrane as a pattern transfer mask for either the etching of underlying material or for the deposition of additional material onto the surface of a scintillator. Exemplary detectors utilizing such photonic crystal scintillators are also provided.

主权项

1. A method for manufacturing a photonic crystal scintillator, the method comprising:
generating an alumina membrane by anodizing aluminum foil, wherein the alumina membrane comprises a plurality of pores arranged in a generally hexagonal lattice structure; affixing the alumina membrane adjacent to a surface of a scintillator; performing an etching technique to generate a plurality of holes in the scintillator, wherein the plurality of holes are respectively located beneath the plurality of pores; and removing the alumina membrane from the surface of the scintillator; coating the surface of the scintillator with a coating material prior to affixing the alumina membrane; wherein affixing the alumina membrane adjacent to the surface of the scintillator comprises affixing the alumina membrane adjacent to the coating material; wherein performing the etching technique to generate the plurality of holes in the scintillator comprises performing the etching technique to generate the plurality of holes in the coating material; and wherein removing the alumina membrane from the surface of the scintillator comprises removing the alumina membrane from the coating material; wherein the coating material forms a layer having a thickness substantially equal to one-half of an emission wavelength associated with the scintillator.