This research is focused on developing a new type of gamma-ray scintillator and is motivated by the need for more accurate positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. PET scans are used to display regions of high-metabolic activity within the body and can indicate the presence of tumors, so clear images are essential for accurate diagnoses and treatment options. Scintillation detectors currently used for PET scans typically have a time resolution of hundreds of ps that yields images with poorly defined and blurred boundaries. Conversely, ZnO nanowires have a response time that is an order of magnitude faster with the potential for an analogous improvement to spatial resolution. Moreover, initial experiments show ZnO nanowires are radiation hardened with highly transient lattice defects. To optimize overall scintillator efficiency, the emission can be enhanced through a combination of optical-cavity effects (15x enhancement) and plasmon-exciton coupling (3x enhancement), while the low interaction volume of the nanowires can be addressed by adding a high-Z backing layer to attenuate incoming gamma rays. The ability to decouple, and address separately, emission efficiency and gamma-ray interaction provides a unique materials workbench and establishes ZnO nanowires as a highly promising PET scan scintillator material.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03292017-001124 |
| Date | 06 April 2017 |
| Creators | Mayo, Daniel Craig |
| Contributors | Richard F. Haglund Jr., Richard R. Mu, Robert A. Reed, D. Greg Walker, Timothy P. Hanusa |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03292017-001124/ |
| Rights | restrictsix, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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