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 IMARAD has developed an innovative technology for growing Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) semiconductor crystals that culminates in the manufacturing of highly uniform crystals. The achievement of an optimal growth method combined with a unique thermal profile brings capabilities to medical imaging, as well as to other applications, that have never been possible with existing technologies. This process is based on the famous Bridgman Crystal growing technique. IMARAD’s proprietary growth process is based on horizontal geometry. It is making use of a modified version of the classical Bridgman technique, maintaining very accurate vapor pressure control over the crystal during the growth period until it reaches room temperature. This process has been perfected over many years through which a specially designed growing system was created. The introduction of the CZT semiconductor has allowed for radiation detection through direct conversion. CZT has been known for many years to be the ideal detector for direct conversion, an attribute most important in medical imaging, as well as in any hard radiation detection . However, CZT has not been commercially available because of the great difficulties to grow high quality CZT crystals at an affordable cost. After years of extensive in-house research and development IMARAD has achieved a highly controlled and accurate growth method, which is characterized by both high quality and the ability to grow crystals in a cost-effective and economic manner. This growth technology represents a breakthrough in existing technology because it guarantees the following features: •
A high level of thermodynamic control and accuracy Those features, together with a manufacturing plant with an unprecedented growth capacity, allow for the availability of high quality and low cost CZT.
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DetectorsCZT detectors use direct conversion of high-energy photons to electrons (unlike scintillators, such as NaI, that convert them into light, which is then converted to electrons by a photomultiplier or a photodiode). As a consequence, CZT detectors outperform scintillators in terms of their energy resolution, and thus allow for substantially improved performance in every gamma imaging application, such as in Nuclear Medicine. Moreover, CZT is the only room-temperature detector which allows for mini-gamma cameras, hand-held and portable devices to detect and image gamma emissions, whether in medical applications or those of Homeland Security (by the detection of gamma signatures of radioactive materials cached behind heavy lead and steel shielding).
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