Zinc germanate based flexible scintillator film for high-performance X-ray imaging

Flexible scintillator films, characterized by their excellent conformal bonding ability, hold great potential for reducing image blurring and distortion in X-ray imaging, especially when dealing with non-planar or irregular objects. In this study, we employed Zn 2 GeO 4 (ZGO) as the host matrix and doped it with Mn 2+ , Li + , and Cr 3+ ions to regulate its luminescence performance. Rod-shaped ZGO-based scintillators (ZGO:0.5%Mn, ZGO:0.5%Mn,20%Li and ZGO:0.5%Mn,20%Li,0.4%Cr) with regular morphology, uniform size and excellent solution dispersibility were synthesized via hydrothermal method. The excellent solution dispersibility and high compatibility with the polymer matrices (i.e. polyvinyl alcohol, PVA) of the ZGO-based scintillators facilitate the fabrication of uniform and flexible scintillator films via microelectronic printing in blade coating mode. The resulting flexible scintillator film achieved an excellent spatial resolution of 14.6 lp mm −1 and shows significant potential for low-dose X-ray imaging of both planar and non-planar objects.