Printable Perovskite Diodes for Broad-Spectrum Multienergy X-Ray Detection

Multienergy X-ray detection is critical to effectively differentiate materials in a variety of diagnostic radiology and nondestructive testing applications. Silicon and selenium X-ray detectors are the most common for multienergy detection; however, these present poor energy discrimination across the broad X-ray spectrum and exhibit limited spatial resolution due to the high thicknesses required for radiation attenuation. Here, an X-ray detector based on solution-processed thin-film metal halide perovskite that overcomes these challenges is introduced. By harnessing an optimized n-i-p diode configuration, operation is achieved across a broad range of soft and hard X-ray energies stemming from 0.1 to 10's of keV. Through detailed experimental and simulation work, it is shown that optimized Cs_0.1 FA_0.9 PbI₃ perovskites effectively attenuate soft and hard X-rays, while also possessing excellent electrical properties to result in X-ray detectors with high sensitivity factors that exceed 5 × 10³ $$ and 6 × 10⁴ µC Gy^-1 cm^-2 within soft and hard X-ray regimes, respectively. Harnessing the solution-processable nature of the perovskites, roll-to-roll printable X-ray detectors on flexible substrates are also demonstrated.