PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MONOCLINIC YTTRIUM TANTALATE (M '-YTaO4) X-RAY PHOSPHOR VIA SOL-GEL TECHNIQUE

Monoclinic yttrium tantalate (M'-YTaO4) are efficient X-ray phosphor used in X-ray medical imaging, in which these phosphor are used in films/screen cassettes, and also in electronic detector systems such as computed radiography, computed tomography and fluoroscopy. Performances of these phosphor are related to composition, crystalline structure, surface properties and luminescence properties of films. In this study, M'-YTaO4 films were synthesized by five steps sol-gel spin coating route on single crystal silicon substrate. And then these films were dried at 120 degrees C and were sintered at 1200 degrees C for 4 hours and slowly cooled to room temperature. The obtained films were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). After sintering, monoclinic M'-YTaO4 phase was obtained.