LUMINANCE
LUMINescent gArNet CEramics and nanocrystals: material properties understanding and scintillation applications – LUMINANCE
Principal Investigator: Jan Hostaša
Involved Personnel: Francesco Picelli
Starting date: 26/10/2023
Duration: 24 mesi
Total Funding: 203.915,00 €
Call: PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR) Missione 4 “Istruzione e Ricerca” – Componente C2 Investimento 1.1, “Fondo per il Programma Nazionale di Ricerca e Progetti di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN)” PRIN 2022 – D.D. 104 del 02/02/2022
CNR-ISSMC Role: Partner
Project Coordinator: Roberto Lorenzi (Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca), Jan Hostaša (co-PI)
Consortium: Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, CNR-ISSMC
Ionizing radiation, such as X-rays and γ photons, is fundamental in medical bioimaging. Scintillating materials like rare-earth doped garnets absorb and convert these radiations into UV-Vis-IR light, detectable by photodetectors. Garnets, already used in some medical instruments, are promising for TOF-PET detectors, where a rapid response is crucial for optimizing tumor localization. The LUMINANCE project aims to improve the scintillation properties of garnets for medical bioimaging, exploring YAG nanoparticles for optical imaging and GGAG garnets for TOF-PET detectors. Rare-earth doped optical ceramics can be produced with high optical quality and reduced costs, offering practical and effective solutions.
The LUMINANCE project is exploring and developing new ceramic and nanostructured scintillators, enhancing medical diagnostics and other applications:
- Optical ceramic scintillators, thanks to their efficiency and versatility, can be used in various fields such as medical diagnostics, high-energy physics, homeland security, and industrial controls.
- Nanostructured IR scintillators will offer new methods for optical bioimaging, reducing the issues related to current methods.
Publications:
- Francesca Cova, Alessandra Ronchi, Jan Hostaša, Francesco Picelli, Laura Esposito, Valentina Biasini, Alberto Paleari, Roberto Lorenzi. NIR-emitting scintillation of YAG optical ceramics as a testing platform for radio-bioimaging. MRS Communications 15 (2025) 714-720.
Presentations:
- Jan Hostaša, Francesca Cova, Francesco Picelli, Roberto Lorenzi. Ce-doped gadolinium gallium aluminum garnet (GGAG:Ce) ceramic scintillators, influence of additives with different valency on optical performance. FisMAt2025; July 7-11, 2025; Venice, Italy. oral
- Jan Hostaša, Francesco Picelli, Soňa Hříbalová, Valentina Biasini, Laura Esposito, Andreana Piancastelli, Dariia Chernomorets, Francesca Cova, Anna Vedda, Roberto Lorenzi. Transparent Ceramic Composites: Materials Design and Structuring for Lasers, Scintillators and IR Windows. Materials Science & Technology (MS&T24) ACerS-ECerS Joint Symposium: Emerging Leaders in Glass and Ceramics; October 6-9, 2024; Pittsburgh (PA), USA. invited
- F. Cova, J. Hostasa, M. Colucci, A. Piancastelli, L. Esposito, V. Biasini, F. Picelli, I. Veronese, A. Paleari, A. Vedda, R. Lorenzi. Structure-property relationship of scintillating garnet optical ceramics towards effective radiation detection schemes. SCINT2024; July 8-12, 2024; Milan, Italy. oral
- A. Ronchi, F. Cova, J. Hostaša, F. Picelli, L. Esposito, V. Biasini, A. Paleari, A. Vedda, R. Lorenzi. NIR-emitting scintillation of YAG:Yb optical ceramics as testing platforms for medical bioimaging. SCINT2024; July 8-12, 2024; Milan, Italy. poster