Cerium bromide crystal (CeBr3) is a new scintillator material with good development prospects

Cerium bromide is an inorganic compound composed of cerium ions and bromide ions. The chemical formula is CeBr3. It appears as colorless needle-shaped crystals with a cubic crystal system. It is easily soluble in water and ethanol, and it is easily deliquescent in the air. Decomposes upon preheating. Cerium bromide crystal (CeBr3 crystal) is an inorganic scintillator material.

Detectors made of scintillator materials can detect X-rays, gamma rays and other rays, and can be used in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, nuclear medicine, radiochemistry, geological exploration, safety inspection and other fields. With the continuous advancement of science and technology, the application scope of scintillator continues to expand, and in order to meet the needs of different application scenarios, its product categories continue to increase. Cerium bromide crystal is a new scintillator material.

According to the “China Cerium Bromide Crystal (CeBr3) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report 2023-2028” released by the Industrial Research Center, it is shown shows that some properties of cerium bromide crystal are close to those of lanthanum bromide crystal (LaBr3) and sodium iodide crystal (NaI). Cerium bromide crystal has the advantages of high density, high energy resolution, high time resolution, fast response speed, high luminous efficiency, short decay time, low background radiation, and low cost. Its energy resolution, decay time and doping Cerium lanthanum bromide crystal (LaBr3:Ce) is close and has excellent scintillation performance. Cerium bromide crystals can be widely used in high-energy physics, nuclear medicine, oil exploration, environmental monitoring, safety inspection and other fields.

Cerium bromide crystals are easily soluble in water, easily deliquescent and oxidized in the air, and have the same characteristics as thallium-doped sodium iodide crystals (NaI:Tl). They can decompose when exposed to heat, so they need to be sealed and protected from light. In addition, due to strong hygroscopicity and easy oxidation, cerium bromide crystals are easy to decompose during the growth process, causing crystal cracking and reduced transparency. Its growth is more difficult and requires high growth environment and technical processes. These factors limit the application of cerium bromide crystals to a certain extent.

The performance of cerium bromide crystals can be improved by doping with other elements, the most common of which is the doping element strontium (Sr). Strontium-doped cerium bromide crystals (CeBr3:Sr) will increase the energy resolution as the strontium doping amount increases, and large-sized crystals can also be grown. However, excessive strontium doping will make the growth of cerium bromide crystals more difficult. increase. All things considered, the strontium doping amount of 0.2% is the most appropriate, which can take into account the performance and growth requirements of the cerium bromide crystal.

Industry analysts said that cerium bromide crystals have obvious application advantages in high sensitivity and fast measurement, and can be used in the field of nuclear medicine. In the manufacturing of scintillator detectors, which are core components of medical imaging equipment such as PET and SPECT. PET is positron emission computed tomography, and SPECT is single photon emission computed tomography. Both of them use the detection of rays released by short-lived radionuclides injected into the human body to achieve disease diagnosis. In the diagnostic process, scintillator detectors play an important role, and cerium bromide crystals have good development prospects in this field.