Scalable X-ray scintillators with bright singlet-triplet hybrid self-trapping excitons

Shi-Yu Song; Chao-Jun Gao; Rui Zhou; Bing-Zhe Wang; Wen-Bo Zhao; Qing Cao; Yan-Wei Hu; Lin Dong; Kai-Kai Liu; Chong-Xin Shan

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-01869-z

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Scalable X-ray scintillators with bright singlet-triplet hybrid self-trapping excitons

Original Articles

- Scalable X-ray scintillators with bright singlet-triplet hybrid self-trapping excitons
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 9, Pages: 2616-2627(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Henan Key Laboratory of Diamond Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Key Laboratory of Material Physics Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Key Laboratory of Zhongyuan Light, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
  2.Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
  3.Institute of Quantum Materials and Physics Henan Academy of Sciences Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
- Author bio：
  
  Kai-Kai Liu (liukaikai@zzu.edu.cn)
  Chong-Xin Shan (cxshan@zzu.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-01869-z
  CLC：
- Received：12 November 2024，
  
  Revised：2025-03-12，
  
  Accepted：17 April 2025，
  
  Published Online：22 July 2025，
  
  Published：30 September 2025
- Accepted：
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Song, S. Y. et al. Scalable X-ray scintillators with bright singlet-triplet hybrid self-trapping excitons. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2616-2627 (2025).
DOI：

Song, S. Y. et al. Scalable X-ray scintillators with bright singlet-triplet hybrid self-trapping excitons. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2616-2627 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-01869-z.

摘要

Abstract

Size-scalable X-ray scintillators with high transparency and robust photon yield allow for imaging large objects with greater precision and detail. Solution-processable scintillators

typically crafted from quantum dots (QDs)

are promising candidates for highly efficient scintillation applications. However

the restricted size and low transparency in QD-based scintillators lead to less efficient X-ray imaging for large objects requiring high resolution. Herein

we demonstrate a meter-scale ZnO QD scintillator with a visible range transmittance exceeding 96%

featuring bright singlet-triplet hybrid self-trapping excitons (STEs). The quantum yields (QYs) of singlet excitons and triplet excitons are 44.7% and 26.3%. Benefiting from a large Stokes shift and bright triplet excitons

the scintillator has a negligible self-absorption and elevated photon yields. Additionally

the scintillator exhibits exchange invariance

demonstrating identical optical performance upon exchanging the coordinates (

) of the QDs. Featuring bright singlet-triplet hybrid STEs and high transparency

the scintillator achieves high resolution X-ray imaging of 42-line pairs per millimeter (42 lp mm

−1

) at a meter scale. Moreover

demonstrations of 5000 cm

X-ray imaging and real-time dynamic X-ray imaging are presented. The lowest detectable dose rate for X-ray detection is as low as 37.63 ± 0.4 nGy s

−1

. This work presents a novel sizable and transparent scintillator with bright singlet-triplet hybrid STEs

showcasing their potential in high-resolution and sizable object X-ray imaging.

关键词

Keywords

references

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