Cold-Sintered All-Inorganic Perovskite Bulk Composite Scintillators for Efficient X-ray Imaging

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Radiation Detection Physics

Background:

• High-performance bulk scintillators are crucial for high-energy radiation detection, but conventional methods face limitations in achieving desired properties like high detectivity, spatial resolution, and rapid response.
• Current synthesis approaches often require high temperatures, posing challenges for cost-effectiveness and scalability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a cost-effective, stable, and high-performance bulk scintillator for high-energy radiation detection.
• To explore the efficacy of a novel cold sintering technique using a perovskite-based composite material.

Main Methods:

• A novel cold sintering process at 90 °C was employed to create bulk scintillators.
• The scintillators were fabricated based on an "emitter-in-matrix" principle, embedding emissive cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) nanocrystals within a cesium lead bromide (Cs4PbBr6) matrix.

Main Results:

• The developed bulk scintillators exhibit a high light yield (33,800 photons MeV-1) and a low detection limit (79 nGyair s-1).
• Exceptional performance metrics include a fast decay time (9.8 ns), outstanding spatial resolution (8.9 lp mm-1) for X-ray detection, and good energy resolution (19.3% for 59.6 keV gamma rays).
• The composite scintillator demonstrated remarkable stability against environmental factors and repeated X-ray exposure.

Conclusions:

• The cold sintering approach provides a cost-effective strategy for producing high-performance, stable perovskite-based bulk transparent scintillators.
• This advancement holds significant potential for applications in high-energy radiation detection and imaging, offering improved radioluminescence stability.