X-ray technology plays a vital role in medicine and scientific research by enabling non-invasive medical imaging and understanding of materials. Recent advances in X-ray technology allow for brighter, more intense beams and the imaging of increasingly complex systems in real-world environments, such as the inside of working batteries.

To support these advances, scientists are working to develop materials for X-ray detectors that can withstand bright, high-energy X-rays, especially from large X-ray synchrotrons, while maintaining sensitivity and cost-effectiveness.

A group of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and colleagues have demonstrated the remarkable performance of a new material for detecting high-energy X-ray scattering patterns. With its excellent resistance to ultra-high X-ray flux and relatively low cost, the detector material may find wide application in synchrotron-based X-ray research.

During an X-ray scattering experiment, a beam of photons (or light particles) passes through the sample under study. The sample scatters photons, which then strike the detector material. Analyzing how X-rays are scattered gives scientists insight into the structure and composition of a sample.

“Many modern detector materials cannot withstand the wide range of beam energies and large fluxes of X-ray radiation from large synchrotron facilities,” said Antonino Miceli, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s user center Argonne Advanced Photon Source (APS). “They are difficult or have to be cooled to a very high temperature,” he said.

Given the need for better detector materials, the team analyzed the properties of cesium bromide perovskite crystals. Perovskites have a simple structure with easily tunable properties, making them suitable for a wide variety of applications.

The material was grown by two different methods. One method, done in the laboratory of Dak Young Chung, a scientist in Argonne’s materials science department, was to melt and cool the material to enable crystals to form. Another approach was a solution-based approach in which crystals were grown at room temperature. This work was performed at Northwestern University in the laboratory of Mercury Kanazidis, a part-time Argonne Senior Scientist at Northwestern University.

“At beamline 11-ID-B at APS, we evaluated crystals made using these two strategies and their performance over a wide range of synchrotron fluxes,” said Kanatsidis. “The results were amazing.”

Material grown using both methods exhibited outstanding detection capabilities and withstood flows up to the APS limit without any problems.

“This detector material is able to distinguish small changes and provides a better understanding of real materials in real conditions,” said Micheli. “It is relatively dense compared to traditional detector materials such as silicon, and its structure affects its electrical properties to increase efficiency and sensitivity.”

High-energy X-rays allow researchers to study dynamic systems in real time. These include biological processes within cells or chemical reactions within the engine. Thanks to the new detector’s ability to detect subtle changes during experiments, researchers can obtain valuable information about complex and rapid activity in materials, enabling faster and more detailed studies.

The excellent detector materials at APS are even more important now that the facility is undergoing a major renovation that will increase the brightness of the beams by approximately 500 times.

“With unique capabilities and expertise at Argonne, our group has been able to grow extremely high-quality crystals, which has really helped improve the performance of the material,” Chang said.

Looking to the future, the research team plans to focus on expanding production and optimizing crystal quality. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, additional applications of the material are expected, including the potential to detect extremely high-energy gamma rays. Source