Metal-Halide Perovskite Submicrometer-Thick Films for Ultra-Stable Self-Powered Direct X-Ray Detectors

Metal-halide perovskites are revolutionizing the world of X-ray detectors,due to the development of sensitive,fast,and cost-effective devices.Self-powered operation,ensuring portability and low power consumption,has also been recently demonstrated in both bulk materials and thin films.However,the signal stability and repeatability under continuous X-ray exposure has only been tested up to a few hours,often reporting degradation of the detection performance.Here it is shown that self-powered direct X-ray detectors,fabricated starting from a FAPbBr_(3)submicrometer-thick film deposition onto a mesoporous TiO_(2)scaffold,can withstand a 26-day uninterrupted X-ray exposure with negligible signal loss,demonstrating ultra-high operational stability and excellent repeatability.No structural modification is observed after irradiation with a total ionizing dose of almost 200 Gy,revealing an unexpectedly high radiation hardness for a metal-halide perovskite thin film.In addition,trap-assisted photoconductive gain enabled the device to achieve a record bulk sensitivity of 7.28 C Gy^(−1)cm^(−3)at 0 V,an unprecedented value in the field of thin-film-based photoconductors and photodiodes for“hard”X-rays.Finally,prototypal validation under the X-ray beam produced by a medical linear accelerator for cancer treatment is also introduced.

Giant negative electrocaloric effect measured by indirect method in X-ray irradiated P(VDF-TrFE)films

Flexible solid-state cooling devices with high efficiency are attracted to ferroelectric polymers with excellent negative electrocaloric(EC)effects.It is challenging to obtain a large negative EC effect in ferroelectric polymers due to the lack of tunable techniques.A giant negative EC response was obtained in the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene)copolymers(P(VDF-TrFE),70/30,in mole ratio)irra-diated with high-energy X-ray.The irradiated P(VDF-TrFE)films showed an adiabatic temperature change of-13.5 K at 40 MV/m under a dose of 5 Mrad(1 Mrad=10^(4) J/kg)obtained by the indirect method.This significant negative EC effect is attributed to the enhancement of crystalline due to the entry of polymer molecules into the amorphous to crystalline structure and the reduction of heat ca-pacity due to the increase of crosslinking.In addition,X-ray irradiation improves the dielectric coefficient from 15 to 22.This research indicates that irradiation can modify the negative EC properties of ferro-electric polymers for solid-state cooling.

Centimeter-sized Cs_(3)Cu_(2)I_(5)single crystals grown by oleic acid assisted inverse temperature crystallization strategy and their films for high-quality X-ray imaging

Low-dimensional halide perovskites have become the most promising candidates for X-ray imaging,yet the issues of the poor chemical stability of hybrid halide perovskite,the high poisonousness of lead halides and the relatively low detectivity of the lead-free halide perovskites which seriously restrain its commercialization.Here,we developed a solution inverse temperature crystal growth(ITCG)method to bring-up high quality Cs_(3)Cu_(2)I_(5)crystals with large size of centimeter order,in which the oleic acid(OA)is introduced as an antioxidative ligand to inhibit the oxidation of cuprous ions effieiently,as well as to decelerate the crystallization rate remarkalby.Based on these fine crystals,the vapor deposition technique is empolyed to prepare high quality Cs_(3)Cu_(2)I_(5)films for efficient X-ray imaging.Smooth surface morphology,high light yields and short decay time endow the Cs_(3)Cu_(2)I_(5)films with strong radioluminescence,high resolution(12 lp/mm),low detection limits(53 nGyair/s)and desirable stability.Subsequently,the Cs_(3)Cu_(2)I_(5)films have been applied to the practical radiography which exhibit superior X-ray imaging performance.Our work provides a paradigm to fabricate nonpoisonous and chemically stable inorganic halide perovskite for X-ray imaging.

High Energy X-Ray Dosimetry Using(ZnO)_(0.2)(TeO_(2))_(0.8)Thin Film-based Real-time X-Ray Sensor

This study reports the dosimetric response of a(ZnO)_(0.2)(TeO_(2))_(0.8)thin film sensor irradiated with high-energy X-ray radiation at various doses.The spray pyrolysis method was used for the film deposition on soda-lime glass substrate using zinc acetate dehydrate and tellurium dioxide powder as the starting precursors.The structural and morphological properties of the film were determined.The I-V characteristics measurements were performed during irradiation with a 6 MV X-ray beam from a Linac.The results revealed that the XRD pattern of the AS-deposited thin film is non-crystalline(amorphous)in nature.The FESEM image shows the non-uniform shape of nanoparticles agglomerated separately,and the EDX spectrum shows the presence of Te,Zn,and O in the film.The I-V characteristics measurements indicate that the current density increases linearly with X-ray doses(0-250 cGy)for all applied voltages(1-6 V).The sensitivity of the thin film sensor has been found to be in the range of 0.37-0.94 mA/cm^(2)/Gy.The current-voltage measurement test for fading normalised in percentage to day 0 was found in the order of day 0>day 15>day 30>day 1>day 2.These results are expected to be beneficial for fabricating cheap and practical X-ray sensors.

Dual-phase coexistence enables to alleviate resistance drift in phase-change films

The amorphous phase-change materials with spontaneous structural relaxation leads to the resistance drift with the time for phase-change neuron synaptic devices. Here, we modify the phase change properties of the conventional Ge_2Sb_2Te_5(GST) material by introducing an SnS phase. It is found that the resistance drift coefficient of SnS-doped GST was decreased from 0.06 to 0.01. It can be proposed that the origin originates from the precipitation of GST nanocrystals accompanied by the precipitation of SnS crystals compared to single-phase GST compound systems. We also found that the decrease in resistance drift can be attributed to the narrowed bandgap from 0.65 to 0.43 eV after SnS-doping. Thus, this study reveals the quantitative relationship between the resistance drift and the band gap and proposes a new idea for alleviating the resistance drift by composition optimization, which is of great significance for finding a promising phase change material.

Evaluation on residual stresses of silicon-doped CVD diamond films using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy

The effect of silicon doping on the residual stress of CVD diamond films is examined using both X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Raman spectroscopy measurements. The examined Si-doped diamond films are deposited on WC-Co substrates in a home-made bias-enhanced HFCVD apparatus. Ethyl silicate (Si(OC2H5)4) is dissolved in acetone to obtain various Si/C mole ratio ranging from 0.1% to 1.4% in the reaction gas. Characterizations with SEM and XRD indicate increasing silicon concentration may result in grain size decreasing and diamond [110] texture becoming dominant. The residual stress values of as-deposited Si-doped diamond films are evaluated by both sin2ψ method, which measures the (220) diamond Bragg diffraction peaks using XRD, with ψ-values ranging from 0° to 45°, and Raman spectroscopy, which detects the diamond Raman peak shift from the natural diamond line at 1332 cm-1. The residual stress evolution on the silicon doping level estimated from the above two methods presents rather good agreements, exhibiting that all deposited Si-doped diamond films present compressive stress and the sample with Si/C mole ratio of 0.1% possesses the largest residual stress of ~1.75 GPa (Raman) or ~2.3 GPa (XRD). As the silicon doping level is up further, the residual stress reduces to a relative stable value around 1.3 GPa.

Dental Age Estimation Based on X-ray Images

Chronological age estimation using panoramic dental X-ray images is an essential task in forensic sciences.Various statistical approaches have proposed by considering the teeth and mandible.However,building automated dental age estimation based on machine learning techniques needs more research efforts.In this paper,an automated dental age estimation is proposed using transfer learning.In the proposed approach,features are extracted using two deep neural networks namely,AlexNet and ResNet.Several classifiers are proposed to perform the classification task including decision tree,k-nearest neighbor,linear discriminant,and support vector machine.The proposed approach is evaluated using a number of suitable performance metrics using a dataset that contains 1429 dental X-ray images.The obtained results show that the proposed approach has a promising performance.

X-ray absorption near the edge structure and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies on pyrite prepared by thermally sulfurizing iron films

This paper reports how pyrite films were prepared by thermal sulfurization of magnetron sputtered iron films and characterized by X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on a 4B9B beam line at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The band gap of the pyrite agrees well with the optical band gap obtained by a spectrophotometer. The octahedral symmetry of pyrite leads to the splitting of the d orbit into t2g and eg levels. The high spin and low spin states were analysed through the difference of electron exchange interaction and the orbital crystal field. Only when the crystal field splitting is higher than 1.5 eV, the two weak peaks above the white lines can appear, and this was approved by experiments in the present work.

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Studies of Ti_(x)Al_(1-x)N Thin Films Prepared by RF Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

TixAl1-xN films have been prepared by RF reactive magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction results showed that TixAl1-xN thin films in this study were hexagonal wurtzite structure with the Ti content up to 0.18. X-ray photoelectron spectrocopy studies provided that the Nls core-electron spectrum of TixAl1-xN thin film brodend with increasing Ti content, and the difference of the chemical shifts for Ti2p3/2 line between TiN and TixAl1-xN th77pj in film was 0.7 eV.

A large-grain-size thick-film polycrystalline diamond detector for x-ray detection

A diamond film with a size of 6×6×0.5 mm^3 is fabricated by electron-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Raman spectrum analysis, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope images confirm the high purity and large grain size, which is larger than 300 μm. Its resistivity is higher than 10^12 W· cm. Interlaced-finger electrodes are imprinted onto the diamond film to develop an x-ray detector. Ohmic contact is confirmed by checking the linearity of its current–voltage curve. The dark current is lower than 0.1 n A under an electric field of 30 k V cm^-1. The time response is 220 ps. The sensitivity is about 125 m A W^-1 under a biasing voltage of 100 V.A good linear radiation dose rate is also confirmed. This diamond detector is used to measure x-ray on a Z-pinch, which has a double-layer 'nested tungsten wire array'. The pronounced peaks in the measured waveform clearly characterize the x-ray bursts, which proves the performance of this diamond detector.

Characterization of Thin Films by Low Incidence X-Ray Diffraction

Glancing Angle X-ray Diffraction (GAXRD) is introduced as a direct, non-destructive, surface-sensitive technique for analysis of thin films. The method was applied to polycrystalline thin films (namely, titanium oxide, zinc selenide, cadmium selenide and combinations thereof) obtained by electrochemical growth, in order to determine the composition of ultra-thin surface layers, to estimate film thickness, and perform depth profiling of multilayered heterostructures. The experimental data are treated on the basis of a simple absorption-diffraction model involving the glancing angle of X-ray incidence.

Erratum to “Accurate determination of film thickness by low-angle x-ray reflection”

Equation(6)in Chin.Phys.090833(2000)is corrected.All subsequent derivations were given based on the correct Eq.(6),so the conclusions in the paper are not ffected by the rrata.

Evaluation of multiaxial stress in textured cubic films by x-ray diffraction

X-ray diffraction is used extensively to determine the residual stress in bulk or thin film materials on the as- sumptions that the material is composed of fine crystals with random orientation and the stress state is biaxial and homogeneous through the x-ray penetrating region. The stress is calculated from the gradient of ε ～ sin^2 φ linear relation. But the method cannot be used in textured films due to nonlinear relation. In this paper, a novel method is proposed for measuring the multiaxial stresses in cubic films with any [hkl] fibre texture. As an example, a detailed analysis is given for measuring three-dimensional stresses in FCC films with [111] fibre texture.

X-RAY STUDY ON TITANIUM NITRIDE FILMS DEPOSITED BY VCAD METHOD

TiN films deposited by the VCAD method at the substrate of stainless steel and superhigh speed tool steels are uniform and dense.Their colour,orientation and lattice parameter depend on deposited condition The lattice structure of deposited film,the change of the lattice parameter and its preferred orientation were studied by the XRD method,different behaviours of TiNx film were analysed.The lattice parameter of TiNx films is increased with the nitrogen content and The colour of TiNx film is strongly related to the content of Nitrogen also.The change of preferred orientation depends mainly on the Bias.

Rapid digitalization and panoramic evaluation of weld X-ray film

The computer evaluation of weld X-ray film is an attractive technique for weld seam NDT （ nondestructive testing）. To achieve this target, digitalization of film is the first step and automatic defect identification is another key technique. In this paper, a weld X-ray film digitalizing system has been established with linear array CCD and highlight LED light source. Its space resolution can reach 0. 04 mm/pixel and scanning speed can reach 100 mm/s for an industrial film. The transfer function curves of the system have been measured and the results indicate that its image gray resolution can reach 88 G/D at 4. 5D, and its dynamic range can be wider than 2. OD. In order to facilitate the evaluation of large welded structure, a panoramic evaluation algorithm is developed also. The algorithm includes image matching, image fusion and panoramic evaluation of the long linked film image.

Performance of Large Area Thin-Film CdTe Detector in Diagnostic X-Ray Imaging

Significant advancement in thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) deposition techniques in recent years has made this material attractive for the development of low-cost large area detector. Here we evaluate the intrinsic performance of the detector for a range of energies relevant to diagnostic imaging applications, such as fluoroscopy. The input x-ray spectra for a set of tube potentials ranging from 70 to 140 kVp were computed with the tungsten anode spectral model using interpolating polynomials (TASMIP) based on the measured output of our diagnostic x-ray simulator. Frequency-dependent detector performance analysis was conducted through Monte Carlo simulations of energy deposition within the detector. Intrinsic modulation transfer functions (MTF), noise power spectra (NPS), and detective quantum efficiencies (DQE) were computed for a set of CdTe detectors of varying thickness, from 100 to 1000 μm. MTF behavior at higher frequencies was affected by thickness and input energy, NPS increased with film thickness and energy, and the resultant DQE(f) decreased with increasing the input energy, but increased with the thickness of the detector. We found that the optimal thickness of CdTe under diagnostic x-ray beam is in the range of 300 to 600 μm. Physical properties of CdTe, such as the high atomic number and density, used in direct detection configuration, together with the recently established thin-film manufacturing techniques makes this technology a promising photoconductor for large area diagnostic flat panel imaging.

X-Ray Radiation Sensing Properties of ZnS Thin Film:A Study on the Effect of Annealing

Chemically synthesized ZnS thin film is found to be a good x-ray radiation sensor. We report the effect of annealing on the x-ray radiation detection sensitivity of a ZnS thin film synthesized by a chemical bath deposition technique. The chemically synthesized ZnS films are annealed at 333, 363 and 393K for 1 h. Structural analyses show that the lattice defects in the films decrease with annealing. Further, the band gap is also found to decrease from 3.38 to 3.21 eV after annealing at 393K. Current-voltage characteristics of the films are studied under dark and x-ray irradiation conditions. Due to the decrease of lattice defects and band gap, the conductivity under dark conditions is found to increase from 2.06 × 10^-6 to 1.69 × 10^-5 S/em, while that under x-ray irradiation increases from 4.13 × 10^-5 to 5.28 ×10^-5 S/cm. On the other hand, the x-ray radiation detection sensitivity of the films is found to decrease with annealing. This decrease of detection sensitivity is attributed to the decrease of the band gap as well as some structural and surface morphological changes occurring after annealing.

Improving the Transitional Care for Child Dental Nursing via the Use of Documentary Films

The purpose of this paper is utilizing quasi-experimental study to evaluate the educational value of a documentary film for transitional care about children dental health management The method used in this study is a pre-post survey among nurse viewers. The study was completed over a 12-month period. In the experimental group, when the nurses watched the documentary film, they evaluated the documentary film highly and reported an intention to change their transitional care practice and mind as a result of watching the documentary film. Following viewing, children and their parents felt more strongly that ＂children with dental problems should meet with a nurse early＂ and that ＂transitional care greatly impacts children oral health＂. As a result, a documentary film about oral transitional care is an effective educational tool to improve nurses＇ transitional care awareness among children about the importance and needs of children. The results suggest that if significant modifications are obtained, this approach can be an efficient way applicable to other contexts of patient care.

Glancing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectrometry based on a single-bounce parabolic capillary

Glancing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectrometry using a single-bounce parabolic capillary is proposed for the analysis of layered samples.The divergence of the x-ray beam was 0.33 mrad.In this paper,we used this instrumental setup to analyze a Si single crystal and a 50 nm HfO_(2) single-layer film deposited on a Si substrate.

XPS Study of Electroless Deposited Sb2Se3 Thin Films for Solar Cell Absorber Material

As a thin film solar cell absorber material, antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) has become a potential candidate recently because of its unique optical and electrical properties and easy fabrication method. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the stoichiometry and composition of electroless Sb2Se3 thin films using depth profile studies. The surface layers were analyzed nearly stoichiometric. But the abundant amount of antimony makes the inner layer electrically more conductive.