Large-Scale Ferroelectric Ceramic Wafer Achieved by Sintering Strategies for Sensitive High-Temperature Self-Powered...

Self-powered X-ray detectors, known for their miniaturization, portability, and low energy consumption, are highly suitable for security screening and industrial inspection under extreme conditions. In this work, the ferroelectric ceramic 0.55Pb(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.135PbZrO₃-0.315PbTiO₃ (PNN-PZT) was prepared using the solid-state sintering method. The obtained material exhibits a high resistivity of 5.9 × 10¹² Ω cm and a notable carrier mobility-lifetime product (µτ) of 5.22 × 10^-4 cm² V^-1, which collectively ensures a suppressed dark current and a high charge collection efficiency. At room temperature, the detector demonstrates a remarkable self-powered sensitivity of 135 µC Gy_air ^-1 cm^-2, surpassing that of a commercial amorphous selenium detector (µτ product ∼ 10^-7 cm² V^-1, sensitivity ∼ 20 µC Gy_air ^-1 cm^-2), which highlights its potential for self-powered detection applications. Moreover, the material achieves a detection limit of 316 nGy_air s^-1 and exhibits excellent long-term operational stability. Notably, at an elevated temperature of 150°C, the sensitivity of PNN-PZT ceramics increases to 248 µC Gy_air ^-1 cm^-2, and the detection limit decreases to 6.76 nGy_air s^-1. This breakthrough broadens the material scope for self-powered X-ray detection, paving the way for developing low-cost, highly stable, and environmentally adaptable detectors capable of high-temperature operation.