Realizing nearly-zero dark current and ultrahigh signal-to-noise ratio perovskite X-ray detector and image array by dark-current-shunting strategy

Although perovskite X-ray detectors have revealed promising properties, their dark currents are usually hundreds of times larger than the practical requirements. Here, we report a detector architecture with a unique shunting electrode working as a blanking unit to suppress dark current, and it theoretically can be reduced to zero. We experimentally fabricate the dark-current-shunting X-ray detector, which exhibits a record-low dark current of 51.1 fA at 5 V mm−1, a detection limit of 7.84 nGyair s−1, and a sensitivity of 1.3 × 104 μC Gyair−1 cm−2. The signal-to-noise ratio of our polycrystalline perovskite-based detector is even outperforming many previously reported state-of-the-art single crystal-based X-ray detectors by serval orders of magnitude. Finally, the proof-of-concept X-ray imaging of a 64 × 64 pixels dark-current-shunting detector array is successfully demonstrated. This work provides a device strategy to fundamentally reduce dark current and enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of X-ray detectors and photodetectors in general.