Development of Thallium-Based Semiconductors and Scintillators for High Energy Radiation Detection

A variety of medical imaging, homeland security, industrial monitoring, environmental survey, and physical science applications can be largely enhanced by employing high-performance room-temperature semiconductor radiation detectors. To this end, thallium (Tl) based materials represent an interesting category of detector materials thanks to their unique physical properties. In this regard, TlBr has been intensively studied as a radiation detector material over the past few years. Recently several other Tl-based compounds, e.g., TlPbI3, have also received strong interest in light of their potential for room temperature radiation detection. In this chapter, we review the development of these Tl-based materials, either used as semiconductor radiation detectors or as scintillator radiation detectors, and discuss their performance-determining factors including physical properties, growth processes, and defect control.