Ultrafast detection of X-rays with perovskites using the photoelectric effect
Ultrafast detection of X-rays with perovskites using the photoelectric effect lead image
Inertial fusion experiments are monitored, in large part, with the use of high-speed X-ray detectors. X-ray photomultipliers, streak cameras, and frame cameras all provide valuable information about the fusion reaction and its byproducts, and central to all of them is a material highly sensitive to X-rays. One promising class of materials for this application is metal halide perovskites, which have many desirable optoelectronic properties.
Li et al. used CsPbI2Br perovskite film to develop an ultrafast X-ray detector based on the photoelectric effect. Their detector has a temporal resolution of 170 picoseconds, three orders of magnitude faster than any other perovskite-based X-ray detector.
“This work presents a tremendous opportunity to develop an ultrafast X-ray detection technology that addresses the need for high photoelectric efficiency with good stability and low-cost fabrication and operation,” said author Yukun Li.
Metal halide perovskites make ideal X-ray detectors due to their long X-ray attenuation lengths and high carrier mobilities and lifetimes. They are also much more stable in air than many alternatives, making them cheaper and easier to manufacture. Previous research has produced perovskite detectors based on the photovoltaic or photoconductive effects, and the authors wanted to examine whether the high photoelectric efficiencies of some perovskites lend themselves to use as high-speed detectors.
The researchers plan to continue improving the efficiency of their detector, while exploring the photoelectric efficiency of additional perovskite materials, such as lead-free perovskites.
“In the future, we plan to apply perovskite materials in the photocathodes of x-ray streak cameras and X-ray frame cameras,” said Li.
Source: “An ultrafast X-ray photoelectric detector using CsPbI2Br perovskite film,” by Yukun Li, Tao Chen, Xingsen Che, Huabing Du, and Zhurong Cao, Applied Physics Letters (2022). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0117957 .
