Volumetric Photonic Crystal Scintillators

Scintillators are materials that convert high-energy particles, such as X-rays, free electrons, or gamma rays, into optical photons through a complex cascade of processes. These materials are central to various modern imaging technologies, including diagnostic medical imaging and non-destructive testing. Integrating nanophotonics with scintillators represents a promising direction poised to advance several technologies by directly controlling and tailoring the light emission process. For instance, utilizing the Purcell effect can increase the rate of spontaneous emission, yielding significantly brighter scintillators (see: Kurman et al., arXiv:2302.01300 (2023)). This enhancement would directly translate to reduced X-ray dosage in medical settings, thereby decreasing the risk of radiation exposure to patients. Previous approaches have incorporated surface patterns in relatively thin scintillators to enhance the out-coupling of emission (see: Roques-Carmes, Rivera et al., Science 375 (6583), eabm9293 (2022)). Here, we demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of bulk-patterned (volumetric), two-dimensional photonic crystal scintillators that exhibit significant emission enhancement while being several hundred microns thick. Notably, we find that this enhancement results from a combination of bulk and surface effects, arising from the wavelength-scale periodicity of the photonic crystal embedded within the scintillating material