JP7450486B2 - Radiation imaging panel, radiation imaging device, radiation imaging system, method for manufacturing radiation imaging panel, and scintillator plate - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a radiation imaging panel, a radiation imaging device, a radiation imaging system, a method of manufacturing a radiation imaging panel, and a scintillator plate.

As a flat panel detector (FPD) used for radiography in medical image diagnosis and non-destructive testing, an indirect conversion method that uses a scintillator to convert the radiation that passes through the subject into light, and then detects the light emitted by the scintillator with a photoelectric conversion element. There are FPDs. In scintillators that convert radiation into light, columnar crystals of alkali metal halides such as cesium iodide are widely used in order to efficiently transmit the light converted from radiation to photoelectric conversion elements. Since the halogenated alkali metal compound deteriorates due to moisture absorption, a protective layer having a moisture-proofing function may be provided on the scintillator. Furthermore, a reflective layer having a light reflecting function may be disposed on the side of the scintillator opposite to the photoelectric conversion element so that the light converted from radiation by the scintillator is efficiently detected by the photoelectric conversion element. Patent Document 1 discloses that a phosphor protective layer made of a resin containing light-reflecting fine particles and having a light-reflecting function and a moisture-proofing function is formed on a phosphor layer in a shape embedded between columnar crystals of the phosphor. A radiation detection device is shown.

JP2006-052980A

There is room for consideration in the concentration distribution of light-reflecting fine particles shown in Patent Document 1. Specifically, in order to improve MTF (Modulation Transfer Function), light-reflecting fine particles must be arranged between each columnar crystal of the scintillator to prevent light from entering adjacent columnar crystals. There is. On the other hand, when light-reflecting particles are present above the columnar crystals, the light emitted upward from the columnar crystals of the scintillator is reflected by the light-reflecting particles and re-enters the columnar crystals, increasing DQE (Detective quantum efficiency). It can be improved. However, there is a possibility that the light emitted upward from the columnar crystals is diffused by the light-reflecting fine particles, making it impossible to obtain the effect of improving MTF.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique advantageous for improving MTF in a radiation imaging panel.

In view of the above problems, a radiation imaging panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate in which a plurality of pixels including photoelectric conversion elements are arranged on the main surface side , a scintillator including a plurality of columnar crystals , and a front panel. a composite layer containing a resin material covering the scintillator, the composite layer being provided on the main surface , the composite layer being adjacent to each of the plurality of columnar crystals. The first region includes a first region that is a region between matching columnar crystals, and a second region that covers the tip side of the plurality of columnar crystals extending from the main surface , and metal compound particles are arranged in the first region. and the particles of the metal compound are arranged in the second region at a lower concentration than the first region, or the particles of the metal compound are not arranged in the second region. Features.

The above means provides a technique advantageous for improving MTF in a radiation imaging panel.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a radiation imaging panel according to the present embodiment. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the radiation imaging panel of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a comparative example of the radiation imaging panel of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the radiation imaging panel of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a comparative example of the radiation imaging panel of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing characteristics of the radiation imaging panel of FIG. 1. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radiation imaging device and a radiation imaging system using the radiation imaging panel of FIG. 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiments, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In addition, radiation in the present invention includes not only α-rays, β-rays, and γ-rays, which are beams produced by particles (including photons) emitted by radioactive decay, but also beams with energy of the same level or higher, such as X-rays. It can also include rays, particle rays, and cosmic rays.

The configuration and manufacturing method of the radiation imaging panel according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of a radiation imaging panel 100 in this embodiment. The radiation imaging panel 100 includes a substrate 101 including a pixel region 110 on a main surface 109 in which a plurality of pixels including photoelectric conversion elements are arranged, and a plurality of columnar crystals 102 arranged on the main surface 109 of the substrate 101. and a protective layer 108 including a resin layer 103 disposed to cover the scintillator 107. A planarization layer 105 may be disposed between the substrate 101 and the scintillator 107 in order to reduce the difference in level caused by transistors, wiring layers, etc. formed on the main surface 109 of the substrate 101.

In the pixel area 110, a plurality of pixels may be arranged in a two-dimensional array. For example, 3300 x 2800 pixels are arranged on a 550 mm x 445 mm substrate 101. Of the 3300×2800 pixels, 10 pixels arranged on the outer periphery may be a dummy pixel region, and the 3280×2780 pixels arranged inside the dummy pixels may constitute the effective pixel region of the pixel region 110. The number of pixels arranged in the pixel area 110 and the number of pixels arranged in the effective pixel area of the pixel area 110 may be set as appropriate depending on the size of the substrate 101, the object to be imaged, and the like.

In addition, the pixel area 110 provided on the substrate 101 includes column signal lines for extracting signals generated in each pixel, and rows for driving each element including pixels arranged in the pixel area 110. Signal lines etc. may be arranged. The column signal line and the row signal line can be electrically connected to the readout circuit board and the drive circuit board, respectively, via a flexible wiring board or the like. The substrate 101 may be provided with a connection terminal portion (not shown) in order to connect the column signal line and row signal line to the readout circuit board and the drive circuit board. Signals generated in each pixel of the pixel area 110 can be output from the radiation imaging panel 100 via the connection terminal section.

Here, an example is shown in which the readout circuit and the drive circuit are arranged outside the radiation imaging panel 100, but the readout circuit and the drive circuit may be arranged in the radiation imaging panel 100. Even in this case, a connection terminal section (not shown) is arranged on the substrate 101, and signals generated in each pixel of the pixel area 110 are transmitted to the radiation imaging panel 100 via the connection terminal section (not shown). can be output from.

In this embodiment, the protective layer 108 includes a base 106 disposed on the opposite side of the resin layer 103 from the scintillator 107 and a metal layer disposed between the resin layer 103 and the base 106. . For example, the protective layer 108 may be produced by forming an aluminum metal layer 104 on the base 106 and forming a resin layer 103 on the metal layer 104.

The scintillator 107 converts radiation incident on the scintillator 107 into light that can be detected by a photoelectric conversion element provided on the substrate 101. For example, scintillator 107 may convert radiation into visible light. For the scintillator 107, an alkali metal halide compound such as cesium iodide (CsI) on which columnar crystals grow can be used. When CsI is used as the scintillator 107, thallium iodide (TlI) can be used as an activator.

The scintillator 107 can be formed using a vapor deposition method, for example. The substrate 101 is placed on a vapor deposition apparatus so that the flattening layer 105 becomes the vapor deposition surface, and CsI and TlI are respectively filled in a cell container so that the Tl concentration is 1 mol% relative to CsI, and co-evaporation is performed by heating. I do. As a result, a scintillator 107 including a plurality of columnar crystals 102 is formed.

A resin layer 103 is formed on the scintillator 107. The scintillator 107 composed of a plurality of columnar crystals 102 containing an alkali metal halide compound deteriorates due to moisture absorption. Therefore, the resin layer 103 may also function as a moisture-proof layer of the scintillator 107. Since the resin layer 103 covering the scintillator 107 has the function of a moisture-proof layer, it is possible to prevent the scintillator 107 from deteriorating due to moisture absorption.

FIG. 2(a) is an enlarged view of the portion 111 in FIG. For the resin layer 103, a hot melt resin containing polyolefin resin as a main component may be used. A hot melt resin is defined as an adhesive resin that is solid at room temperature without containing water or solvents and is composed of a 100% non-volatile thermoplastic material (Thomas P. Flanagan, Adhesives Age, vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 28 (1966)). In addition, hot melt resin has the property of melting when the resin temperature rises and solidifying when the resin temperature falls, and has adhesive properties to other organic materials and inorganic materials in a heated and molten state. On the contrary, it is a resin that is in a solid state at room temperature and does not have adhesive properties. In addition, since the hot melt resin does not contain polar solvents, solvents, and water, the scintillator 107 does not dissolve even when it comes into contact with the scintillator 107 having columnar crystals 102 of alkali halide, so it also has the function of a protective layer. is possible.

Hot-melt resins are classified according to the type of base polymer (base material) that is the main component, and polyolefin-based, polyester-based, polyamide-based, etc. can be used. When using a hot melt resin for the resin layer 103 as the protective layer 108 of the scintillator 107, it is important that it has high moisture resistance and high light transmittance for transmitting visible light generated from the scintillator 107.

The material used for the resin layer 103 is not limited to hot melt resin. The resin layer 103 may be made of, for example, a resin having a pressurizing adhesive effect due to intermolecular force, a so-called adhesive material. In this case, the resin layer 103 may be made of urethane resin or acrylic resin. For example, polymethyl methacrylate resin among acrylic resins may be used as the resin layer 103.

The region between the main surface 109 of the substrate 101 and the upper surface 203 of the resin layer 103 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A is defined as follows. A region between adjacent columnar crystals 102 of the plurality of columnar crystals 102 of the scintillator 107 is defined as a first region 211 . A second region 212 is a region between the plurality of columnar crystals 102 and the first region 211 and the upper surface 203 of the resin layer 103, and the region where the resin layer 103 is arranged. Here, the first region 211 is a region in which the plurality of columnar crystals 102 of the scintillator 107 occupy 75% or more and 98% or less in a plane parallel to the main surface 109 of the substrate 101. In this first region 211, metal compound particles 201 are arranged, as shown in FIG. 2(a).

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a radiation imaging panel 300 of a comparative example. In the radiation imaging panel 300 of the comparative example, since metal compound particles are not arranged in the first region 211, the light emitted by the columnar crystals 102 of the scintillator 107 can also spread in the lateral direction of the drawing in the first region 211. . As a result, by repeating reflection and refraction in the first region 211, scattering of light and attenuation of light that occurs simultaneously are promoted, and the MTF may be reduced.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2(a), metal compound particles 201 are arranged in the first region 211. By disposing the metal compound particles 201, the light emitted from the columnar crystal 102 is more likely to be reflected by the emitted columnar crystal 102 again. As a result, scattering of light in the first region 211 can be suppressed and MTF can be improved.

The metal compound particles 201 may be metal oxide particles. A material having a higher refractive index than the scintillator 107 can be used for the metal compound particles 201 . For example, when the above-mentioned CsI (refractive index (n): 1.78 to 1.84 (depending on the type of activator, etc.)) is used as the scintillator 107 of an alkali metal halide compound, the refractive index is larger than that of CsI. materials may be used. For example, the metal compound particles 201 include white lead (2PbCo ₃ Pb(OH) ₂ ) (n: 1.94 to 2.09), zinc oxide (n: 2.0), yttrium oxide (n: 1. 91), zirconium oxide (n: 2.20), titanium oxide (n: 2.50 to 2.72), etc. can be used. For example, the refractive index of the metal compound particles 201 may be 1.94 or more and 2.72 or less. Furthermore, for example, particles of rutile-type titanium dioxide, which has a high refractive index among titanium oxides, may be used as the metal compound.

Further, the metal compound particles 201 may have a higher refractive index than the resin constituting the resin layer 103. By increasing the difference between the refractive index of the metal compound particles 201 and the refractive index of the resin layer 103, light is more likely to be reflected on the surface of the metal compound particles 201 in the first region 211. The above-mentioned hot melt resin has a refractive index of about 1.52, urethane resin has a refractive index of about 1.49, and acrylic resin has a refractive index of about 1.49 to 1.53.

Further, the average particle size of the metal compound particles 201 may be 200 nm or more and 500 nm or less. Generally, the sensitivity characteristics of photoelectric conversion elements are between 500 nm and 800 nm, but if the particle size is 1/2 or less of the wavelength of light, the effect of Rayleigh scattering will appear, so there is a high probability that the light will be reflected in the direction of incidence. This is to become. For example, rutile titanium dioxide particles having an average particle size of 250 nm, a particle size distribution of 10% diameter D ₁₀ = 195 nm, 50% diameter (median diameter) D ₅₀ = 245 nm, and 90% diameter D ₉₀ = 275 nm are metal oxide particles. 201 may also be used.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 2A, a portion of the resin layer 103 is arranged in the first region 211. Further, in the first region 211, metal compound particles 201 are arranged in the resin layer 103. However, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the resin layer 103 may not be provided in the first region 211. By not disposing the resin layer 103 in the first region 211, the refractive index of the space (air layer) in the first region 211 becomes low. This increases the refractive index difference between the air layer and the columnar crystals 102 in the first region 211, making it difficult for light to exit from the columnar crystals 102. In addition, the difference in refractive index between the air layer in the first region 211 and the particles of the metal compound particles 201 increases, and the light emitted from the columnar crystal 102 is more efficiently absorbed by the particles of the metal compound 201. can be reflected. This can further improve MTF.

In the configurations shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the metal compound particles 201 are not arranged in the second region 212. However, as shown in FIG. 4, metal compound particles 201 may be arranged in the second region 212. In this case, in the portion of the resin layer 103 disposed in the second region 212, the metal compound particles 201 may be dispersed and disposed as shown in FIG.

Here, the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 arranged in the second region 212 in the resin layer 103 will be considered. FIG. 4 shows the radiation imaging panel 100 of this embodiment in which metal compound particles 201 are added to the second region 212 at a lower concentration than the first region 211. FIG. 5 shows a radiation imaging panel 500 of a comparative example in which the concentration of metal compound particles 201 in the second region 212 is higher than or equal to the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 arranged in the first region 211. . When the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 in the second region 212 is high, scattering in the thickness direction of the resin layer 103 (vertical direction in FIG. 5) increases. Therefore, more light returns to the columnar crystal 102. However, the light reflected by the metal compound particles 201 arranged in the second region 212 may not be reflected by the columnar crystal 102 from which the light was emitted, but may enter other columnar crystals 102. . In other words, the light is diffused, which may be a factor in reducing the MTF.

FIG. 6 shows the MTF value at 2 lp/mm of the manufactured radiation imaging panel in which the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 in the second region 212 in the resin layer 103 was changed. Since it is difficult to mix more than 90 vol% of metal compound particles 201 into the resin constituting the resin layer 103, the maximum concentration of the metal compound particles 201 in the resin layer 103 is 90 vol%. The MTF value was measured by irradiating X-rays according to the international standard radiation quality RQA5. Further, FIG. 6 shows a case where the metal compound particles 201 are arranged at the same concentration in the first region 211 and the second region 212 (radiation imaging panel 500 of a comparative example) and A case is shown in which metal compound particles 201 are arranged at a lower concentration than the region 211 (radiation imaging panel 100 of this embodiment).

As shown in FIG. 6, in the radiation imaging panel 100 of this embodiment in which the metal compound particles 201 are added to the second region 212 at a lower concentration than the first region 211, the first region 211 and It can be seen that the MTF value is improved compared to the radiation imaging panel 500 of the comparative example in which the metal compound particles 201 are added at the same concentration in the two regions 212.

Furthermore, from FIG. 6, in the second region 212, when the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 in the resin layer 103 is increased from 0 vol%, the MTF improves and reaches an optimum value at an appropriate concentration, and when further increased, the MTF increases. It can be seen that this decreases. More specifically, in the second region 212, the MTF value is improved when the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 in the resin layer 103 is 0.15 vol% or more and less than 7.5 vol%. I understand that. In the second region 212, when the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 is low, the possibility of reflection of light by the metal compound particles 201 in the second region 212 of the resin layer 103 is lower than when the concentration is high, and scattering is reduced. suppressed. Furthermore, the presence of an appropriate amount of the metal compound particles 201 prevents the light reflected by the metal compound particles 201 from attenuating while being diffused and returning to the columnar crystals 102 . As a result, the MTF of the radiation imaging panel 100 of this embodiment can be improved.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 4, when the metal compound particles 201 are arranged in the second region 212, the metal compound particles 201 are arranged in the second region 212 at a lower concentration than in the first region 211. It's good to have one. Thereby, the MTF can be improved in the radiation imaging panel 100. Furthermore, at this time, the concentration of the metal compound particles 201 in the second region 212 in the resin layer 103 may be 0.15 vol% or more and less than 7.5 vol%. This makes it possible to further improve the MTF in the radiation imaging panel 100.

In this way, the metal compound particles 201 are arranged in the first region 211, and the metal compound particles 201 are arranged in the second region 212 at a lower concentration than in the first region 211, or If the metal compound particles 201 are not arranged in the second region 212, the MTF can be improved. This makes it possible to realize the radiation imaging panel 100 with high spatial resolution.

Next, a method for manufacturing the radiation imaging panel 100 in which the concentrations of the metal compound particles 201 are different between the first region 211 and the second region 212 will be described. First, as the substrate 101, a non-alkali glass having a size of 550 mm x 445 mm and a thickness of 500 μm, for example, is prepared. The substrate 101 is not limited to glass, and may be a resin substrate or a semiconductor substrate such as silicon. A film formation process for forming a semiconductor layer such as silicon (e.g. amorphous silicon) or a metal (e.g. aluminum) constituting a wiring layer, a photolithography process, an etching process, etc. are repeatedly performed on a glass substrate 101. As a result, a pixel region 110 is formed. A plurality of pixels are arranged in the pixel region 110, each including a photoconversion element that generates charges according to the light emission of the scintillator 107, and a switching element that outputs a signal according to the generated charges. Furthermore, a connection terminal portion (not shown) for driving the pixel and sending the obtained signal to an external circuit may be formed in the pixel region 110.

After forming the pixel region 110, array testing may be performed to check the operation of the pixels formed in the pixel region 110. After confirming that the array is operating well and that there are no or only a few missing pixels, the peripheral area of the substrate 101 is masked with a masking film to protect the connection terminals (not shown), and the board 101 is flattened. A layer 105 may be formed. The planarization layer 105 can be formed, for example, by placing the substrate 101 in a spray spin coater, spinning it at about 100 rpm while spraying a polyimide solution, and then drying it at a temperature of 220° C. and performing dry annealing. . For example, planarization layer 105 may have a thickness of approximately 2 μm.

After preparing the substrate 101 on which the pixel region 110 is formed, the scintillator 107 is then formed. First, a vapor deposition mask is set on a region of the substrate 101 on which the planarizing layer 105 is formed, where the scintillator 107 is not formed, and then the substrate 101 is placed on a vapor deposition apparatus so that the planarizing layer 105 becomes the vapor deposition surface. Thereafter, CsI and TlI are each filled into a cell container so that the Tl concentration is 1 mol % relative to CsI, and co-evaporation is performed by heating. The scintillator 107 may have a thickness of 380 μm and a membrane filling factor of 75%, for example. At this time, the outer edge of the scintillator 107 may be placed outside the outer edge of the pixel region 110. Furthermore, when performing vapor deposition of the scintillator 107, the vapor deposition apparatus may be evacuated to about 10 ⁻³ Pa and then heated with a lamp heater so that the substrate surface reaches 175° C.

After the scintillator 107 is formed, metal compound particles 201 are sprinkled over the scintillator 107 so that the metal compound particles 201 enter between the columnar crystals 102 of the scintillator 107. Next, the hot melt resin sheet constituting the resin layer 103 is placed on the scintillator 107 and bonded together using a vacuum thermal transfer device or the like, thereby producing the radiation imaging panel 100 shown in FIG. 2(b). For example, first, the scintillator 107 and a sheet of hot melt resin are brought into contact at 30° C., and then the pressure is reduced to 10 ⁻¹ Pa to remove air bubbles. Furthermore, pressure is applied between the substrate 101 and the hot melt resin sheet constituting the resin layer 103, and the temperature is heated to 70 to 100° C. and maintained for an appropriate period of time to form the substrate 101 with the scintillator 107 formed thereon. and the resin layer 103 constituting the protective layer 108 are bonded together.

Further, for example, after the scintillator 107 is formed, a resin to which metal compound particles 201 are added may be applied to cover the scintillator 107 to cover the portion of the resin layer 103 disposed in the first region 211. may be formed. Next, a sheet of hot melt resin or a sheet containing urethane resin or acrylic resin, which is called an adhesive and has a pressurized adhesive effect due to the above-mentioned intermolecular force, is pasted onto the resin formed using the coating method. As a result, a portion of the resin layer 103 disposed in the second region 212 is formed. At this time, the metal compound particles 201 may be added to the resin bonded onto the resin formed using the coating method at a lower concentration than the resin formed using the coating method. In this way, the radiation imaging panel 100 shown in FIG. 4 can be manufactured. Furthermore, the metal compound particles 201 may not be added to the resin that is bonded onto the resin formed using the coating method. In this way, the radiation imaging panel 100 shown in FIG. 2(a) can be manufactured.

The first region 211 of the resin layer 103 is not limited to being formed using a coating method. The portion of the resin layer 103 that is in contact with the columnar crystal 102 in the first region 211 may be formed by bonding resin to which metal compound particles 201 are added using a vacuum thermal transfer device or the like.

After forming the resin layer 103, a metal layer 104 such as aluminum and a base 106 may be formed on the resin layer 103. In addition, the above-mentioned hot melt resin sheet or sheet containing urethane resin or acrylic resin called adhesive is used to form a metal layer 104 such as aluminum on the base 106, and to form a resin on the metal layer 104. It may also be produced by A PET substrate or the like may be used for the base 106. For example, a 12 μm thick aluminum metal layer 104 may be formed on a 30 μm thick PET base 106, and the resin layer 103 or a part of the resin layer 103 may be formed on the metal layer 104. . By bonding the resin layer 103 formed on the base 106 onto the scintillator 107, the radiation imaging panel 100 including the protective layer 108 shown in FIG. 1 can be manufactured.

Further, in this embodiment, a case has been described in which the substrate 101 including the pixel region 110 in which a plurality of pixels are arranged is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the substrate 101 does not need to include the pixel region 110. In this case, the reference numeral 100 may be referred to as a scintillator plate. For example, by mounting this scintillator plate on a sensor substrate having a pixel area in which a plurality of pixels are arranged, it can function as a radiation imaging panel. Therefore, when the substrate 101 does not include the pixel region 110, the substrate 101 may be a transparent substrate that transmits the light emitted by the scintillator 107.

Hereinafter, a radiation imaging device incorporating the above-described radiation imaging panel 100 and a radiation imaging system 800 using the radiation imaging device incorporating the radiation imaging panel 100 will be described using FIG. 7.

The radiation imaging system 800 is configured to electrically image an optical image formed by radiation and obtain an electrical radiation image (ie, radiation image data). The radiation imaging system 800 includes, for example, a radiation imaging device 801, an exposure control unit 802, a radiation source 803, and a computer 804.

A radiation source 803 for irradiating the radiation imaging apparatus 801 with radiation starts irradiating radiation according to an exposure command from the exposure control unit 802. Radiation emitted from the radiation source 803 passes through an unillustrated body and irradiates the radiation imaging device 801. The radiation source 803 stops emitting radiation according to a stop command from the exposure control unit 802.

The radiation imaging device 801 includes the radiation imaging panel 100 described above, a control unit 805 for controlling the radiation imaging panel 100, and a signal processing unit 806 for processing signals output from the radiation imaging panel 100. . The signal processing unit 806 may, for example, perform A/D conversion on a signal output from the radiation imaging panel 100 and output it to the computer 804 as radiation image data. Further, the signal processing unit 806 may generate a stop signal for stopping radiation irradiation from the radiation source 803, for example, based on a signal output from the radiation imaging panel 100. The stop signal is supplied to the exposure control unit 802 via the computer 804, and the exposure control unit 802 sends a stop command to the radiation source 803 in response to the stop signal.

The control unit 805 is, for example, a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated C). (abbreviation for ircuit), or a general-purpose computer with a built-in program. It may be configured by a computer or a combination of all or part of these.

Further, in this embodiment, the signal processing unit 806 is shown as being disposed within the control unit 805 or as a part of the function of the control unit 805, but the signal processing unit 806 is not limited thereto. The control unit 805 and the signal processing unit 806 may have different configurations. Furthermore, the signal processing unit 806 may be arranged separately from the radiation imaging device 801. For example, the computer 804 may have the function of the signal processing unit 806. Therefore, the signal processing unit 806 can be included in the radiation imaging system 800 as a signal processing device that processes signals output from the radiation imaging device 801.

The computer 804 can control the radiation imaging device 801 and the exposure control unit 802, and can perform processing for receiving radiation image data from the radiation imaging device 801 and displaying it as a radiation image. Further, the computer 804 can function as an input unit for a user to input conditions for capturing a radiation image.

As an example, the exposure control unit 802 includes an exposure switch, and when the exposure switch is turned on by the user, the exposure control unit 802 not only sends an exposure command to the radiation source 803 but also sends a start notification indicating the start of radiation emission to the computer. Send to 804. The computer 804 that has received the start notification notifies the control unit 805 of the radiation imaging apparatus 801 of the start of radiation irradiation in response to the start notification. In response to this, the control unit 805 causes the radiation imaging panel 100 to generate a signal according to the incident radiation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following claims are hereby appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

100: radiation imaging panel, 101: substrate, 102: columnar crystal, 103: resin layer, 107: scintillator, 108: protective layer, 109: main surface, 201: metal compound particles, 203: upper surface, 211: first region , 212: Second area

Claims (20)

A composite layer including a substrate having a plurality of pixels including photoelectric conversion elements arranged on the main surface side , a scintillator including a plurality of columnar crystals , and a resin material covering the scintillator , the main surface A radiation imaging panel comprising: a composite layer disposed on a composite layer ;
The composite layer includes a first region that is a region between adjacent columnar crystals of the plurality of columnar crystals, and a second region that covers the tip side of the plurality of columnar crystals extending from the main surface ,
Particles of a metal compound are arranged in the first region,
The metal compound particles are arranged in the second region at a lower concentration than the first region, or the metal compound particles are not arranged in the second region. radiation imaging panel. The radiation imaging panel according to claim 1, wherein the resin material is not arranged in the first region. The radiation imaging panel according to claim 1, wherein a part of the resin material is arranged in the first region. Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the second region, the concentration of the particles of the metal compound added to the resin material is 0.15 vol% or more and less than 7.5 vol%. The radiation imaging panel according to item 1. The radiation imaging according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the particles of the metal compound are dispersed in a portion of the resin material disposed in the second region. panel. 6. The radiation imaging panel according to claim 1, wherein the refractive index of the metal compound particles is higher than the refractive index of the resin constituting the resin material . The radiation imaging panel according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the metal compound contains a metal oxide. The radiation imaging panel according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the metal compound contains rutile titanium dioxide. 9. The radiation imaging panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of columnar crystals contain an alkali metal halide compound. 10. Any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the resin material includes at least one of a resin composed of a nonvolatile thermoplastic material and a resin having a pressurizing adhesive action due to intermolecular force. The radiographic imaging panel described in section. The first region is between adjacent columnar crystals of the plurality of columnar crystals at a position where the proportion of the plurality of columnar crystals in a plane parallel to the main surface satisfies 75% or more and 98% or less. The radiation imaging panel according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the radiation imaging panel is in a region of. 12. The radiation imaging panel according to claim 1, wherein the particles have an average particle size of 200 nm or more and 500 nm or less. a base on which the composite layer is disposed on a side of the resin material opposite to the scintillator;
a metal layer disposed between the resin material disposed in the second region and the base;
The radiation imaging panel according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: The radiation imaging panel according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
a control unit for controlling the radiation imaging panel;
A radiation imaging device comprising: The radiation imaging device according to claim 14;
a signal processing device that processes signals output from the radiation imaging device;
A radiation imaging system comprising: preparing a substrate in which a plurality of pixels including photoelectric conversion elements are arranged on a main surface side , and a scintillator including a plurality of columnar crystals is arranged on the main surface;
forming a first resin to which particles of a metal compound are added so as to cover the scintillator;
forming a second resin on the first resin,
The metal compound particles are added to the second resin at a lower concentration than the first resin, or the metal compound particles are not added to the second resin. A method for manufacturing a radiation imaging panel. the first resin is formed by a coating method,
17. The method of manufacturing a radiation imaging panel according to claim 16, wherein the second resin is formed by laminating a sheet containing the second resin onto the first resin. The first resin is formed by bonding a sheet containing the first resin onto the scintillator, and the second resin is formed by bonding a sheet containing the second resin onto the first resin. 17. The method for manufacturing a radiation imaging panel according to claim 16. A scintillator plate including a substrate , a composite layer including a scintillator including a plurality of columnar crystals, and a resin material disposed to cover the scintillator, and provided on the main surface of the substrate. And,
The composite layer includes a first region that is a region between adjacent columnar crystals of the plurality of columnar crystals, and a second region that covers the tip side of the plurality of columnar crystals extending from the main surface ,
Particles of a metal compound are arranged in the first region,
The metal compound particles are arranged in the second region at a lower concentration than the first region, or the metal compound particles are not arranged in the second region. scintillator plate. The scintillator plate according to claim 19, wherein the substrate is a transparent substrate that transmits light emitted by the scintillator.

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