Large-scale self-assembled nanophotonic scintillators for X-ray imaging
Louis Martin‐Monier, Simo Pajovic, Muluneh G. Abebe, Joshua Chen, Sachin Vaidya, Seokhwan Min, Seou Choi, Steven E. Kooi, Björn Maes, Juejun Hu, Marin Soljačić, Charles Roques‐Carmes
Abstract
Scintillators convert X-ray energy into visible light and are critical for imaging technologies. Their widespread use relies on scalable, high-quality manufacturing methods. Nanophotonic scintillators, featuring wavelength-scale nanostructures, can offer improved emission properties such as higher light yield, shorter decay times, and enhanced directionality. However, achieving scalable fabrication of these structures remains challenging. Here, we present a scalable fabrication method for large-area nanophotonic scintillators based on the self-assembly of chalcogenide glass photonic crystals. This technique enables the production of nanophotonic scintillators over wafer-scale areas, achieving a six-fold enhancement in light yield compared to unpatterned scintillators. By studying surface nanofabrication disorder, we show its impact on imaging performance and provide a route towards scintillation enhancements without compromising resolution. We demonstrate the practical applicability of our nanophotonic scintillators through X-ray imaging of biological and inorganic specimens. Our results could enable the industrial implementation of a new generation of nanophotonic-enhanced scintillators. Scintillators are used for converting X-ray energy into visible light in imaging technologies. Here, the authors present a scalable fabrication approach for large-area nanostructured scintillators, and achieve six-fold enhancement in light yield compared to unpatterned scintillators.