Cu-doped Cs2AgI3 Composite Loaded Plastic Scintillators for X-ray and Thermal Neutron Detection

Ag-based metal halide scintillators have recently attracted significant interest for X-ray imaging due to their high light yield and ultra-fast decay lifetime. These properties are advantageous for thermal neutron detection, yet their application in this area have not been thoroughly explored. In this article, we investigate the properties of Cu-doped Cs ₂ AgI ₃ metal halide scintillators for X-ray imaging and thermal neutron detection. A simple synthesis process was employed to produce Cu-doped Cs ₂ AgI ₃ scintillators. The as-prepared Cu-doped Cs ₂ AgI ₃ exhibited intense green emission with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 55 ± 2.7%. Cu-doped Cs ₂ AgI ₃ /PVDF plastic scintillation screen has been prepared and achieved a resolution of 5 lp/mm under X-ray radiation. A composite consisting of ⁶ LiF, Cu-doped Cs ₂ AgI ₃ , and Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was utilized for thermal neutron detection, achieving a light yield of about 12,526±9 photons/thermal neutron, which is almost twice that of a commercial ⁶ Li-glass (GS20) scintillator (7000 photons/thermal neutron). Effective neutron-gamma pulse discrimination was achieved using a network dynamics digital filter, effectively separating thermal neutron events from gamma events.