Progress in science and technology on photostimulable BaFX:Eu (X=Cl, Br, I) and imaging plates

Imaging plate (IP) is a two-dimensional detector of ionizing radiation utilizing photostimulable BaFX:Eu²⁺ (X=Cl, Br, I). First type was developed about 20 years ago. As for the mechanism of the photostimulated luminescence (PSL), a lot of arguments have been done after the presentation of the first model by Takahashi et al. In principle, the model is supported by the recent papers.

In the meantime, the performance of IPs is drastically improved. Then, the computed radiography and the radioluminography (RLG) systems, which take advantage of the excellent feature in linearity and high sensitivity of IPs, were developed that became an inevitable equipment for medical diagnostics and scientific research. The late Professor Shigeo Shionoya greatly contributed to analysis of the PSL mechanism and development of the RLG technology.