Publication date: 19th April 2024
Over the past decade, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have emerged[1] as revolutionary materials for ionising radiation detection and have captivated the X-ray detector development community. These materials offer an unprecedented combination of ease of growth from precursor solutions at moderate temperatures and properties on par with the best existing detector materials.
The remarkable efficiency of MHPs is attributed to their high heavy atom content, fast charge transport, optimal bandgap and versatility of deposition and growth techniques. Early experiments with polycrystalline solution-grown films showed significant X-ray sensitivity[2]. Subsequent advances in single-crystal fabrication have enabled single-photon counting capabilities and energy resolution, the possibilities which were previously unattainable with solution-grown materials[3].
Despite these successes, optimal solution-grown MHP compositions have faced significant thermodynamic challenges, some of which have been mitigated by strategic modification of cations and anions[4]. The durability of perovskite detectors under external fields, required for efficient charge extraction, has been problematic due to the ionic structure of the crystal lattice, which promotes ion migration. Nevertheless, recent innovations[5] in the confined growth of high-quality single crystals on substrates have led to zero-bias operation of X-ray detectors, achieving near-ideal performance and significantly improved stability[6].
However, the path to commercialisation is hampered by issues such as ion migration and the relatively slow response of the detectors, as well as the need for novel integration strategies with CMOS chips or TFT displays due to the unique mechanical and chemical properties of MHPs.
Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse) for a grant 46894.1 IP-ENG (Materials for Integrated Photon Counting Detectors) and ETH Zürich for the ETH+ Project SynMatLab: Laboratory for Multiscale Materials Synthesis.