Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite scintillator for high-resolution X-ray imaging

Herein, Lithium-doped 2D (PEA)2PbBr4 ((PEA)2PbBr4:Li) perovskite single crystals (SCs) synthesized at room temperature are reported, and their scintillation properties are analyzed and compared with those of LYSO:Ce crystals under X-ray excitation. The (PEA)2PbBr4:Li SCs exhibit a fast time response with two decay times (11 ns (85 %) and 38 ns (15 %)), and the main fast-decay time is significantly shorter than that of LYSO:Ce (42 ns). The (PEA)2PbBr4:Li SCs exhibit a bright blue emission peaking at 428 nm and a narrow radioluminescence spectrum. Further, the (PEA)2PbBr4:Li SCs exhibit a high light yield (approximately 23 300 photons/MeV). In addition, the (PEA)2PbBr4:Li SCs exhibit better spatial resolution (3.3 lp/mm at modulation transfer function = 0.1) in X-ray imaging. The results demonstrate that the low-cost (PEA)2PbBr4:Li SCs own the scintillation performance of fast-decay time, high light yield, and high spatial resolution simultaneously, leading to this material an enormous potential for medical diagnostic applications.