• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.618-625
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• 2021

In this paper, the single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) featuring three different p-well implantation doses (∅_p-well) of 5.0 × 10¹², 4.0 × 10¹², and 3.0 × 10¹² atoms/cm² under the identical device layouts were fabricated and characterized to evaluate the effects of field enhanced mechanisms on primary dark pulses due to the maximum electric field. From the I-V curves, the breakdown voltages were found as 23.2 V, 40.5 V, and 63.1 V with decreasing ∅_p-well, respectively. By measuring DCRs as a function of temperature, we found a reduction of approximately 8% in the maximum electric field lead to a nearly 72% decrease in the DCR at V_ex = 5 V and T = 25 ℃. Also, the activation energy increased from 0.43 eV to 0.50 eV, as decreasing the maximum electric field. Finally, we discuss the importance of electric field engineering in reducing the field-enhanced mechanisms contributing to the DCR in SPADs and the benefits on the SPADs related to different types of radiation detection applications.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.267-274
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• 2022

Molecular imaging is used to improve the disease diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring of treatment in living subjects. Numerous molecular targets have been developed for various cellular and molecular processes in genetic, metabolic, proteomic, and cellular biologic level. Molecular imaging modalities such as Optical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and Computed Tomography (CT) can be used to visualize anatomic, genetic, biochemical, and physiologic changes in vivo. For in vivo cell imaging, certain cells such as cancer cells, immune cells, stem cells could be labeled by direct and indirect labeling methods to monitor cell migration, cell activity, and cell effects in cell-based therapy. In case of cancer, it could be used to investigate biological processes such as cancer metastasis and to analyze the drug treatment process. In addition, transplanted stem cells and immune cells in cell-based therapy could be visualized and tracked to confirm the fate, activity, and function of cells. In conventional molecular imaging, cells can be monitored in vivo in bulk non-invasively with optical imaging, MRI, PET, and SPECT imaging. However, single cell imaging in vivo has been a great challenge due to an extremely high sensitive detection of single cell. Recently, there has been great attention for in vivo single cell imaging due to the development of single cell study. In vivo single imaging could analyze the survival or death, movement direction, and characteristics of a single cell in live subjects. In this article, we reviewed basic principle of in vivo molecular imaging and introduced recent studies for in vivo single cell imaging based on the concept of in vivo molecular imaging.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2009.07a
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• pp.1535_1536
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• 2009

본 논문에서는 1.5um 파장대에서 감쇄기를 이용한 유사단일광원을 이용하여 단일광자검출의 특성을 실험적으로 분석하였다. Gated Geiger 모드에서 APD를 동작 하여 열적 노이즈에 따른 양자효율을 측정하였다. 또한 APD를 이용하여 단일광자를 고속으로 검출시 문제가 되는 afterpulsing 노이즈의 온도별 특성을 분석하였다.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.431-436
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• 2001

The effect of decorrelation on the coincidence is investigated with correlated photons produced by parametric down-conversion process. The degree of correlation between photon pairs is adjusted by changing the polarization dependent transmissivities of thin glass plate\ulcorner in front of two detectors. It was found that the single counts of each detectors are proportional to the transmissivity and the coincidence is proportional to the product of transmissivities of the glasses in front of two detectors.

• 대한핵의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.66-75
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• 2001

Although diverse mechanisms are involved in multidrug resistance for chemotherapeutic drugs, the development of cellular P-glycoprotein(Pgp) and multidrug-resistance associated protein (MRP) are important factors in the chemotherapy failure to cancer. Various detection assays provide information about the presence of drug efflux pumps at the mRNA and protein levels. However these methods do not yield information about dynamic function of Pgp and MRP un vivo. Single photon emission tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) are available for the detection of Pgp and MRP-mediated transport. $^{99m}Tc$-sestaMIBl and other $^{99m}Tc$-radiopharmaceuticals are substrates for Pgp and MRP, and have been used in clinical studies for tumor imaging, and to visualize blockade of Pgp-mediated transport after modulation of Pgp pump. Colchicine, verapamil and daunorubicin labeled with $^{11}C$ have been evaluated for the quantification of Pgp-mediated transport with PET in vivo and reported to be feasible substrates with which to image Pgp function in tumors. Leukotrienes are specific substrates for MRP and N-$[^{11}C]$acetyl-leukotriene E4 provides an opportunity to study MRP function non-invasively in vivo. Results obtained from recent publications are reviewed to confirm the feasibility of using SPECT and PET to study the functionality of MDR transporters in vivo.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.114-117
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• 2005

As the indication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has expanded to the more difficult and complicated cases, frequent restenosis is still expected after PCI. According to AHA/ACC guideline of the present time, routine use of myocardial perfusion single photon emission tomography (SPECT) is not recommended after coronary intervention, but symptom itself or exercise EKG is not enough for the detection of restensis or for the prediction of event-free survival. In high risk and/or symptomatic subjects, direct coronary angiography is required myocardial perfusion SPECT could detect restenosis in 79% of the patients if performed 2 to 9 months after PCI. Reversible perfusion decrease in the myocardial perfusion SPECT is known to be the major prognostic indicator of major adrerse cardiac event in PCI patients and also the prognosis is benign in the patients without reversible perfusion decrease. Though the cumulated specificity is 79% in the literature and optimal timing of myocardial perfusion SPECT is in controversy, SPECT is recommended even in asymptomatic patients at 3 to 9 months after PCI. Considering the evidences recently reported in the literature, myocardial perfusion SPECT is useful for risk stratification and detection of coronary artery restenosis requiring re-intervention in the asymptomatic patients after PCI.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.162-166
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• 2008

We are developing a sensitive gamma ray spectrometer based on superconducting transition edge sensors. The detector consists of a small piece of high purity Sn as an absorber and a Ti/Au bilayer as a temperature sensor. It is designed to measure the thermal signal caused by absorption of gamma rays. The mechanical support and the thermal contact between the absorber and the thermometer were made with Stycast epoxy. The bilayer was formed by e-beam evaporation and patterned by wet etching on top of a $SiN_X$ membrane. A sharp superconducting transition of the film was measured near 100 mK. When the film was biased to the edge of the transition, signals were observed due to single photon absorption emitted from an $^{241}Am$ source. The measured spectrum showed several characteristic peaks of the source including 59.5 keV gamma line. The full with at half maximum was about 900 eV for the 59.5 keV gamma line. The background was low enough to resolve low energy lines. Considerations to improve the energy resolution of the gamma ray spectrometer are also discussed.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.167-171
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• 2016

Background: TlBr is of considerable technological importance for radiation detection applications where detecting high-energy photons such as X-rays and ${\gamma}$-rays are of prime importance. However, there were few reports on investigating optical properties of TlBr itself for deeper understandings of this material and for making better radiation detection devices. Thus, in this paper, we report on the optical characterizations of TlBr single crystals. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements at RT were performed for this work. Materials and Methods: A 2-inch TlBr single crystalline ingot was grown by using the vertical Bridgman furnace. SE measurements were performed at RT within the photon energy range from 1.1 to 6.5 eV. PL measurements were performed at RT by using a home-made PL system equipped with a 266 nm-laser and a spectrometer. Results and Discussion: Dielectric responses from SE analysis were shown to be slightly different among the different samples possibly due to the different structural/optical properties. Also from the PL measurements, it was observed that the peak intensities of the middle samples were significantly higher than those of the other two samples. With the given values for permittivity of free space (${\varepsilon}_0=8.854{\times}10^{-12}F{\cdot}m^{-1}$), thickness (d = 1 mm), and area ($A=10{\times}10mm^2$) of the TlBr sample, capacitances of TlBr were 6.9 pF (at $h{\nu}=3eV$) and 4.4 pF (at $h{\nu}=6eV$), respectively. Conclusion: SE and PL measurement and analysis were performed to characterize TlBr samples from the optical perspective. It was observed that dielectric responses of different TlBr samples were slightly different due to the different material properties. PL measurements showed that the middle sample exhibited much stronger PL emission peaks due to the better material quality. From the SE analysis, optical, dielectric constants were extracted, and calculated capacitances were in the few pF range.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.663-668
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• 2016

In single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) with a pixelated semiconductor detector (PSD), not only pinhole collimators but also parallel-hole collimators are often used in preclinical nuclear-medicine imaging systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare pinhole and parallel-hole collimators in a PSD. For that purpose, we paired a PID 350 (Ajat Oy Ltd., Finland) CdTe PSD with each of the four collimators most frequently used in preclinical nuclear medicine: (1) a pinhole collimator, and (2) low-energy high-resolution (LEHR), (3) low-energy general-purpose (LEGP), and (4) low-energy high-sensitivity (LEHS) parallel-hole collimators. The sensitivity and spatial resolution of each collimator was evaluated using a point source and a hot-rod phantom. The highest sensitivity was achieved using LEHS, followed by LEGP, LEHR, and pinhole. Also, at a source-to-collimator distance of 2 cm, the spatial resolution was 1.63, 2.05, 2.79, and 3.45 mm using pinhole, LEHR, LEGP, and LEHS, respectively. The reconstructed hot-rod phantom images showed that the pinhole collimator and the LEHR parallel-hole collimator give a fine spatial resolution for preclinical SPECT with PSD. In conclusion, we successfully compared different types of collimators for a preclinical pixelated semiconductor SPECT system.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.328-332
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• 2016

Background: Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a new radiation therapy. In BNCT, there exists some very critical problems that should be solved. One of the severest problems is that the treatment effect cannot be known during BNCT in real time. We are now developing a SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) system (BNCT-SPECT), with a cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor detector. BNCT-SPECT can obtain the BNCT treatment effect by measuring 478 keV gamma-rays emitted from the excited state of $^7Li$ nucleus created by $^{10}B(n,{\alpha})$ $^7Li$ reaction. In the previous studies, we investigated the feasibility of the BNCT-SPECT system. As a result, the S/N ratio did not meet the criterion of S/N > 1 because deterioration of the S/N ratio occurred caused by the influence of Compton scattering especially due to capture gamma-rays of hydrogen. Materials and Methods: We thus produced an arrayed detector with two CdTe crystals to test cross talk phenomenon and to examine an anti-coincidence detection possibility. For more precise analysis for the anti-coincidence detection, we designed and made a collimator having a similar performance to the real BNCT-SPECT. Results and Discussion: We carried out experiments with the collimator to examine the effect of cross talk of scattering gamma-rays between CdTe elements more practically. As a result of measurement the coincidence events were successfully extracted. Conclusion: We are now planning to carry out evaluation of coincidence rate from the measurement and comparison of it with the numerical calculations.