About this Research Topic
This Research Topic will focus on the development and characterisation of novel materials for use as direct radiation detectors. The development of ionising radiation detectors has been a topic of much interest for many decades, with a range of detector technologies now very well established across a wide range of application areas in both pure science and applied sciences and engineering. The key detector technologies which have been so far developed and commercialised mostly rely on established classes of technology, principally silicon or germanium semiconductors, gas-based detectors, or scintillation-based detectors. In this special edition we look to the future to identify new trends in radiation detector technologies, focussing particularly in novel materials for direct detection of ionising radiation. Such new materials typically offer particular advantages over the established technologies, such as large area and potentially low cost devices, lower operating power, materials grown using solution-based methods in place of traditional high temperature crystal growth, high-Z materials for improved gamma detection efficiency, or materials which are specifically designed for efficient neutron detection.
In this collection, we concentrate on the development of the underlying materials and devices, whilst also exploring the various application areas which can benefit from these new radiation detection technologies. The scope of this edition covers any novel detector materials which is used for direct detection of ionising radiation, and which is not yet commercially mature. Some examples of the detector technologies which will be discussed are as follows:
Organic Materials. The development of organic materials for electronic applications has seen a dramatic and sustained growth over the last decade. Organic materials possess a unique set of characteristics and capabilities which are well suited for radiation detection, including tissue-equivalence for X-ray/photon dosimetry applications, and applications in fast neutron detection due to their hydrogenic content.
Perovskites. Recently there has been rapidly growing interest in perovskite materials for use as radiation sensors, partly due to their cross-over from the solar cell community. With the advantage of low cost solution-based growth, both inorganic perovskites and hybrid organic-metal perovskites show considerable potential for X-ray and gamma detection.
High-Z Inorganic Semiconductors. There is considerable continued interest in the development of new high-Z inorganic semiconductors for gamma spectroscopy applications. The well known II-VI materials such as CdTe and CZT are outside the scope of this edition as they are now commercially well established. Instead this edition will focus on new developments in high-Z materials such as chalcogenide semiconductors, novel compound semiconductors, and other new developments in inorganic/hybrid blends.
This Research Topic will be made up of invited papers from world-leading experts working on the development of new materials for radiation detectors. It will give an overview of the current state of the art and will identify new trends in radiation detector technologies.
In this collection, we concentrate on the development of the underlying materials and devices, whilst also exploring the various application areas which can benefit from these new radiation detection technologies. The scope of this edition covers any novel detector materials which is used for direct detection of ionising radiation, and which is not yet commercially mature. Some examples of the detector technologies which will be discussed are as follows:
Organic Materials. The development of organic materials for electronic applications has seen a dramatic and sustained growth over the last decade. Organic materials possess a unique set of characteristics and capabilities which are well suited for radiation detection, including tissue-equivalence for X-ray/photon dosimetry applications, and applications in fast neutron detection due to their hydrogenic content.
Perovskites. Recently there has been rapidly growing interest in perovskite materials for use as radiation sensors, partly due to their cross-over from the solar cell community. With the advantage of low cost solution-based growth, both inorganic perovskites and hybrid organic-metal perovskites show considerable potential for X-ray and gamma detection.
High-Z Inorganic Semiconductors. There is considerable continued interest in the development of new high-Z inorganic semiconductors for gamma spectroscopy applications. The well known II-VI materials such as CdTe and CZT are outside the scope of this edition as they are now commercially well established. Instead this edition will focus on new developments in high-Z materials such as chalcogenide semiconductors, novel compound semiconductors, and other new developments in inorganic/hybrid blends.
This Research Topic will be made up of invited papers from world-leading experts working on the development of new materials for radiation detectors. It will give an overview of the current state of the art and will identify new trends in radiation detector technologies.
Keywords: radiation detectors, materials, organic, semiconductor, perovskite
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
