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 months, extended to 28/02/2026
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.

During the duration of the project, the team successfully applied for three weeks of measurements at synchrotron facilities:

• 2025 – 1 Week: Thermoluminescence stimulated by synchrotron light at the European Synchrotron facility of DESY in Hamburg (D)
• 2025 – 1 Week: Optical absorption and photoluminescence measurements at the MAX IV synchrotron in Lund (Sweden) at the FinEstBeAMS photoluminescence end station
• 2025 – 1 Week: UV-excited Raman measurements at the ELETTRA synchrotron facility in Trieste (IT)

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:

• J. Hostaša, R. Lorenzi, F. Picelli, F. Cova. Impact of process conditions on scintillating performance of Ce-doped mixed gallium gadolinium aluminium garnet ceramics. ECerS 2025; September 1-4, 2025; Dresden, Italy. poster
• J. Hostaša, F. Cova, F. Picelli, R. 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
• R. Lorenzi, N. V. Golubev, E. S. Ignat’eva, V. N. Sigaev, M. Fasoli, A. Paleari, V. Secchi, F. Cova. Investigation of the role of defects in the scintillation mechanism of Ga2O3glass-ceramics. ICG2025 – 27th International Congress on Glass; January 20-24, 2025; Kolkata, India. oral
• J. Hostaša, F. Picelli, S. Hříbalová, V. Biasini, L. Esposito, A. Piancastelli, D. Chernomorets, F. Cova, A. Vedda, R. 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. Hostaša, 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
• R. Lorenzi, N. V. Golubev, E. S. Ignat’eva, V. N. Sigaev, M. Fasoli, A. Paleari, F. Cova. Trapping mechanisms in nanostructured glassceramics with embedded Ga2O3 nanoparticles. SCINT2024; July 8-12, 2024; Milan, Italy. poster
• R. Lorenzi, J. Hostaša, A. Piancastelli, L. Esposito, V. Biasini, F. Picelli, A. Paleari, A. Vedda, F. Cova. Innovative approaches to advanced X-ray detection with layered garnet optical ceramics LUMDETR – 12th International Conference on Luminescent Detectors and Transformers of Ionizing Radiation; June 16-21, 2024; Riga, Latvia. oral