Submicron-diameter phase-separated scintillator fibers for high-resolution X-ray imaging

We demonstrated micrometer-scale resolution X-ray imaging by using phase-separated scintillator fibers. Hexagonally well-aligned 680-nm-diameter GdAlO3(GAP):Ce3+ scintillator fibers surrounded with α-Al2O3 were fabricated from directionally solidified eutectics. The GAP:Ce3+ fibers convert X-rays to lights and emitted lights are confined and transported along the fiber direction by a total reflection mode. High-resolution X-ray image of a gold grating phantom with a 4 μm aperture, corresponding to a bundle of 12 fibers, was achieved even with a 150 -μm-thick scintillator. These scintillator fibers overcome resolution reduction caused by light scattering and almost reach the resolution limit of the material nature itself.