Toray Industries, Inc. has unveiled a new, highly durable short-afterglow scintillator panel designed to enhance non-destructive X-ray inspections and improve operational efficiency. This innovative product was launched globally in June 2024 following its introduction in Japan.
Non-destructive X-ray inspections are crucial for ensuring the quality of various critical products such as semiconductors, electronic components, and food items, where defects or contamination could lead to significant societal impacts including infrastructure failures, automotive incidents, and health risks. The market for X-ray inspection systems is expected to grow by approximately 10% annually, driven by expanded product inspection requirements, broader inspection targets, and increased adoption of comprehensive in-line inspection methods.
One of the challenges with conventional scintillator panels, particularly those using terbium-doped gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS) phosphors, is image blurring such as directional tailing during high-speed product and camera movement. Toray’s new scintillator panel addresses this issue with praseodymium-doped GOS phosphors, which offer shorter afterglows but lower brightness compared to terbium-doped counterparts.
Moreover, continuous high-speed X-ray inspections often lead to luminance degradation and increased frequency of X-ray detector replacement due to panel erosion. Toray’s solution enhances initial scintillator panel brightness by up to 21% through the use of a highly reflective proprietary base film. Through rigorous testing and optimization, Toray achieved up to 30% greater luminance retention compared to conventional technologies after accelerated X-ray irradiation tests.
By delivering superior brightness and effectively managing luminance degradation, Toray has developed a robust scintillator panel tailored for rapid non-destructive X-ray inspections, meeting the critical needs identified by its customers in various industries.
