Iran Capable of Producing Electric Crystals by Using Nuclear Technology
The development and indigenization of ‘electric crystal’ growth furnace technology in Iran as one of the vital infrastructures in the field of materials science and modern defense, peaceful, and nuclear technologies has been given serious attention at the Iranian Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology. Experts believe that access to the technology is the fulcrum of many advanced industries in the world and plays an infrastructural role in vital fields including, aerospace, nuclear medicine, radar systems, and optoelectronics.
The main applications of this technology are in sectors like semiconductors, optoelectronics, aerospace, and defense, nuclear medical equipment, new energies, lasers, and telecommunications equipment. The development of new technologies that require very pure and precise crystals, along with the increasing production of laser equipment and radiation detectors are the most important drivers of this growth.
Various methods for crystal growth are common in the world, including techniques such as Czochralski (CZ), Bridgman, and Floating Zone, each of which has its own technology-owning countries and pioneering companies.
Regarding Iran, opportunities like the development of crystalline materials science and semiconductors are considered to increase domestic power in areas like defense, lasers, and medical equipment, which can, in addition to reducing foreign exchange dependence, provide the basis for creating an export advantage (specially in the region).
Iran is using nuclear technology for different peaceful purposes.
In a relevant development in 2024, Iranian researchers at a knowledge-based company had managed to design and make an imaging device by using SPECT scanning method (a non-invasive method in medicine) and advanced nuclear technology to diagnose different diseases, including cancer.
The device is used to record and reveal the accumulation of radioactive materials in tissues. In this scanning method, based on the patient's condition, the radiopharmaceuticals are absorbed in different organs and a fraction of the photons pass through the surrounding soft tissue and are finally detected by the gamma camera.
“Our company operates in the field of nuclear medical equipment production and has succeeded in using advanced nuclear medicine technology to design and manufacture SPECT scanning device,” Behnoush Teymourian Fard, the deputy managing director of the knowledge-based company, told ANA.
“The device is capable of imaging the function of all tissues and organs of the body and can be used to diagnose different diseases, specially cancer,” she added.
Noting that radiopharmaceuticals emit gamma rays, Teymourian Fard explained, “In this non-invasive method, radiopharmaceuticals are injected into the patient’s body. Then, based on its specifications, the radiopharmaceutical accumulates more in one of the tissues of the body and emits gamma rays. Finally, the gamma rays which come out of patient's body are received and converted into two-dimensional and three-dimensional images; in this way, the physician can obtain a report on the functioning of certain organs of the body like the heart, kidney, liver, and even bones.”
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