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Detection of X-ray photons by solution-processed lead halide perovskites

Nature Photonics volume 9, pages 444–449 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

The evolution of real-time medical diagnostic tools such as angiography and computer tomography from radiography based on photographic plates was enabled by the development of integrated solid-state X-ray photon detectors made from conventional solid-state semiconductors. Recently, for optoelectronic devices operating in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions, solution-processed organic and inorganic semiconductors have also attracted a great deal of attention. Here, we demonstrate a possibility to use such inexpensive semiconductors for the sensitive detection of X-ray photons by direct photon-to-current conversion. In particular, methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) offers a compelling combination of fast photoresponse and a high absorption cross-section for X-rays, owing to the heavy Pb and I atoms. Solution-processed photodiodes as well as photoconductors are presented, exhibiting high values of X-ray sensitivity (up to 25 μC mGyair−1 cm−3) and responsivity (1.9 × 104 carriers/photon), which are commensurate with those obtained by the current solid-state technology.

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Figure 1: MAPbI3 perovskite basic properties.
Figure 2: Photovoltaic device.
Figure 3: Visible and X-ray photoconductive devices.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Austrian Science Fund FWF for financial support through the SFB project IR_ON. A part of the research was also performed at the Energie Campus Nürnberg and supported by funding through the ‘Aufbruch Bayern’ initiative of the state of Bavaria. M.K. and S.Y. acknowledge partial financial support from the European Union through the FP7 (ERC Starting Grant NANOSOLID, GA no. 306733). The authors thank V. Sassi, S. Roters, E. Nusko, W. Grafeneder and M. Bodnarchuk for technical assistance. S.Y. thanks M. Hardman for assisting with the selection of plants for X-ray imaging. The authors thank N. Stadie for reading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Semiconductor and Solid State Physics, University Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, Linz, 4040, Austria

    Sergii Yakunin, Mykhailo Sytnyk, Dominik Kriegner, Julian Stangl & Wolfgang Heiss

  2. Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Zürich, CH-8093, Switzerland

    Sergii Yakunin & Maksym V. Kovalenko

  3. Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstraße 7, Erlangen, 91058, Germany

    Shreetu Shrestha, Moses Richter, Gebhard J. Matt, Hamed Azimi, Christoph J. Brabec & Wolfgang Heiss

  4. Energie Campus Nürnberg (EnCN), Fürther Straße 250, Nürnberg, 90429, Germany

    Christoph J. Brabec & Wolfgang Heiss

  5. Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, Dübendorf, 8600, Switzerland

    Maksym V. Kovalenko

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  1. Sergii Yakunin
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Contributions

The manuscript was prepared with contributions from all authors. S.Y., M.S., D.K. and J.S. performed the work with the photoconductors. S.S., H.A., G.M. and M.R. prepared and tested the solar cell devices. W.H., G.M., C.B. and M.K. planned and supervised the work and had major input in the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wolfgang Heiss.

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Yakunin, S., Sytnyk, M., Kriegner, D. et al. Detection of X-ray photons by solution-processed lead halide perovskites. Nature Photon 9, 444–449 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2015.82

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