Alexander Gektin - Böcker

The "NATO Advanced Research Workshop on radiation detectors for medical imaging", held in Alushta (Crimea, Ukraine) in September 2005 was a unique event and I am very pleased that the proceedings are published in the prestigious NATO Security Through Science series. Since their discovery by Becquerel and Röntgen, radiation and radiation detectors have played an ever more important role in medical diagnostics and therapy. The spirit of such NATO workshops is to give an overview of the present state of the field, rather than to bring the latest research results. We have been very lucky to have with us several of the worlds leading experts in the use of radiation detectors for medial imaging, resulting in a number of extremely interesting overview talks. The talks of these 14 keynote speakers to the NATO workshop are published in the present volume. The presentations by A. Gektin and W. Moses were combined in one common paper, so that the present book only has 13 chapters. We are sure most of these contributions will prove of lasting value. We are particularly grateful to the "NATO science committee" that has financially supported the meeting. Thanks to the NATO funding we have been able to cover a significant fraction of the expenses for a total of 48 participants to this workshop. Without this support a number of participants from central and east Europe would most probably not have had the possibility to attend.

The "NATO Advanced Research Workshop on radiation detectors for medical imaging", held in Alushta (Crimea, Ukraine) in September 2005 was a unique event and I am very pleased that the proceedings are published in the prestigious NATO Security Through Science series. Since their discovery by Becquerel and Röntgen, radiation and radiation detectors have played an ever more important role in medical diagnostics and therapy. The spirit of such NATO workshops is to give an overview of the present state of the field, rather than to bring the latest research results. We have been very lucky to have with us several of the worlds leading experts in the use of radiation detectors for medial imaging, resulting in a number of extremely interesting overview talks. The talks of these 14 keynote speakers to the NATO workshop are published in the present volume. The presentations by A. Gektin and W. Moses were combined in one common paper, so that the present book only has 13 chapters. We are sure most of these contributions will prove of lasting value. We are particularly grateful to the "NATO science committee" that has financially supported the meeting. Thanks to the NATO funding we have been able to cover a significant fraction of the expenses for a total of 48 participants to this workshop. Without this support a number of participants from central and east Europe would most probably not have had the possibility to attend.

This proceedings book presents dual approaches to examining new theoretical models and their applicability in the search for new scintillation materials and, ultimately, the development of industrial technologies. The ISMART conferences bring together the radiation detector community, from fundamental research scientists to applied physics experts, engineers, and experts on the implementation of advanced solutions. This scientific forum builds a bridge between the different parts of the community and is the basis for multidisciplinary, cooperative research and development efforts. The main goals of the conference series are to review the latest results in scintillator development, from theory to applications, and to arrive at a deeper understanding of fundamental processes, as well as to discover components for the production of new generations of scintillation materials.        The book highlights recent findings and hypotheses, key advances, as well as exotic detector designs and solutions, and includes papers on the microtheory of scintillation and the initial phase of luminescence development, applications of the various materials, as well as the development and characterization of ionizing radiation detection equipment. It also touches on the increased demand for cryogenic scintillators, the renaissance of garnet materials for scintillator applications, nano-structuring in scintillator development, trends in and applications for security, and exploration of hydrocarbons and ecological monitoring.

This proceedings book presents dual approaches to examining new theoretical models and their applicability in the search for new scintillation materials and, ultimately, the development of industrial technologies. The ISMART conferences bring together the radiation detector community, from fundamental research scientists to applied physics experts, engineers, and experts on the implementation of advanced solutions. This scientific forum builds a bridge between the different parts of the community and is the basis for multidisciplinary, cooperative research and development efforts. The main goals of the conference series are to review the latest results in scintillator development, from theory to applications, and to arrive at a deeper understanding of fundamental processes, as well as to discover components for the production of new generations of scintillation materials.        The book highlights recent findings and hypotheses, key advances, as well as exotic detector designs and solutions, and includes papers on the microtheory of scintillation and the initial phase of luminescence development, applications of the various materials, as well as the development and characterization of ionizing radiation detection equipment. It also touches on the increased demand for cryogenic scintillators, the renaissance of garnet materials for scintillator applications, nano-structuring in scintillator development, trends in and applications for security, and exploration of hydrocarbons and ecological monitoring.

This second edition features new chapters highlighting advances in our understanding of the behavior and properties of scintillators, and the discovery of new families of materials with light yield and excellent energy resolution very close to the theoretical limit. The book focuses on the discovery of next-generation scintillation materials and on a deeper understanding of fundamental processes.Such novel materials with high light yield as well as significant advances in crystal engineering offer exciting new perspectives. Most promising is the application of scintillators for precise time tagging of events, at the level of 100 ps or higher, heralding a new era in medical applications and particle physics.Since the discovery of the Higgs Boson with a clear signature in the lead tungstate scintillating blocks of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter detector, the current trend in particle physics is toward very high luminosity colliders, in which timing performance will ultimately be essential to mitigating pile-up problems. New and extremely fast light production mechanisms based on Hot-Intraband-Luminescence as well as quantum confinement are exploited for this purpose.Breakthroughs such as crystal engineering by means of co-doping procedures and selection of cations with small nuclear fragmentation cross-sections will also pave the way for the development of more advanced and radiation-hard materials. Similar innovations are expected in medical imaging, nuclear physics ecology, homeland security, space instrumentation and industrial applications. This second edition also reviews modern trends in our understanding and the engineering of scintillation materials. Readers will find new and updated references and information, as well as new concepts and inspirations to implement in their own research and engineering endeavors.

This volume provides a broad overview of the latest achievements in scintillator development, from theory to applications, and aiming for a deeper understanding of fundamental processes, as well as the discovery and availability of components for the production of new generations of scintillation materials. It includes papers on the microtheory of scintillation and the initial phase of luminescence development, applications of the various materials, and development and characterization of ionizing radiation detection equipment. The book also touches upon the increased demand for cryogenic scintillators, the renaissance of  garnet materials for scintillator applications, nano-structuring in scintillator development, development and applications for security, and exploration of hydrocarbons and ecological monitoring.