Emergence of a Lanthanide Chalcogenide as an Ideal Scintillator for a Flexible X‐ray Detector

Abstract

The development of high‐performance X‐ray detectors requires scintillators with fast decay time, high light yield, stability, and X‐ray absorption capacity, which are difficult to achieve in a single material. Here, we present the first example of a lanthanide chalcogenide of LaCsSiS4 : 1 % Ce3+ that simultaneously integrates multiple desirable properties for an ideal scintillator. LaCsSiS4 : 1 % Ce3+ demonstrates a remarkably low detection limit of 43.13 nGyair s−1 and a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 98.24 %, resulting in a high light yield of 50480±1441 photons/MeV. Notably, LaCsSiS4 : 1 % Ce3+ exhibits a fast decay time of only 29.35±0.16 ns, making it one of the fastest scintillators among all lanthanide‐based inorganic scintillators. Furthermore, this material shows robust radiation and moisture resistance, endowing it with suitability for chemical processing under solution conditions. To demonstrate the X‐ray imaging capacity of LaCsSiS4 : 1 % Ce3+, we fabricated a flexible X‐ray detector that achieved a high spatial resolution of 8.2 lp mm−1. This work highlights the potential of lanthanide chalcogenide as a promising candidate for high‐performance scintillators.