Objective It is the aim of the STRING project to significantly increase the performance and reduce the price of PET scanners by an innovative concept in which the scintillator crystals are replaced by scintillator stacks consisting of a fast scintillator incorporating multifunctional ceramic thin films for spectral conversion. In state-of-the-art PET scanners gadoliniumsilicate (GSO) or lutetiumsilicate (LSO) single crystals doped with light emitting Ce3+ ions are used for detection of the high energy photons. Th e STRING project aims at developing ceramic scintillators with faster emission, higher conversion efficiency and reduced production cost. Firstly the luminescence of Pr3+ and Nd3+ will be explored in a variety of host lattices to obtain new and faster scintillator materials. Next to that research will be done to understand and reduce the time for initial build-up of the emission intensity.The costly process of single crystal growth will be replaced by the significantly cheaper production of highly transparent ceramic scintillators via sintering of polycrystalline powders under high pressures. In the STRING project thin ceramic films for spectral conversion will be designed based on efficient organic molecules for conversion from DUV to visible light. The thin film will be optimised to have a match between the UV emission of the scintillator and the organic absorption spectrum.By embedding the organic molecules in a ceramic porous matrix the stability of the organic molecules under deep-UV irradiation will strongly increase and stable and efficient deep-UV to visible spectral conversion films will be obtained. The final objective of the STRING project is to combine the optimised scintillator materials with the thin film ceramic conversion layer and interference filters into a scintillator stack to replace the scintillator crystals in PET machines. Fields of science engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcrystalsengineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and filmsengineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imagingengineering and technologymaterials engineeringceramicsnatural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsphotons Programme(s) FP6-NMP - Nanotechnologies and nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials and new production processes and devices: thematic priority 3 under the 'Focusing and integrating community research' of the 'Integrating and strengthening the European Research Area' specific programme 2002-2006. Topic(s) NMP-2004-3.4.2.2-3 - Multifunctional ceramic thin films with radically new properties Call for proposal FP6-2004-NMP-TI-4 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme STREP - Specific Targeted Research Project Coordinator PHILIPS TECHNOLOGIE GMBH FORSCHUNGSLABORATORIEN Address Weisshausstrasse 2 50 01 45 Aachen Germany See on map Links Website Opens in new window EU contribution € 0,00 Participants (8) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM JUELICH GMBH Germany EU contribution € 0,00 Address Leo-brandt-strasse Juelich See on map Links Website Opens in new window UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT Netherlands EU contribution € 0,00 Address Heidelberglaan 8 80125 Utrecht See on map Links Website Opens in new window TARTU UELIKOOL Estonia EU contribution € 0,00 Address Ulikooli 18 Tartu See on map Links Website Opens in new window PHILIPS LIGHTING BV Netherlands EU contribution € 0,00 Address Mathildelaan 1 Eindhoven See on map Links Website Opens in new window UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN Netherlands EU contribution € 0,00 Address Rapenburg 70 9502 Leiden See on map Links Website Opens in new window CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (CNRS) France EU contribution € 0,00 Address Rue michel-ange 3 Paris See on map Links Website Opens in new window CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE Italy EU contribution € 0,00 Address Piazzale aldo moro 7 Roma See on map Links Website Opens in new window UNIVERSITY OF VERONA Italy EU contribution € 0,00 Address Via dell'artigliere 8 Verona See on map Links Website Opens in new window
