Cu-doped CdZnS/ZnS nano-scintillators for detection of neutrinoless double beta decay

Chenger Wang^a, Francesco Carulli^a, Sergio Brovelli^a

^aDipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, via R. Cozzi 55, Milano 20125, Italy

Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference (MATSUSSpring25)

Advances in Nanocrystals: Fundamental approaches and technological perspectives - #NCAdv

Sevilla, Spain, 2025 March 3rd - 7th

Organizers: Carmelita Rodà and Matteo Zaffalon

Oral, Chenger Wang, presentation 255
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.255
Publication date: 16th December 2024

Quantum dots (QDs) as scintillators for radiation detection have garnered significant attention due to their unique photophysical properties. Previous studies have shown nanocrystal scintillators for X-rays, gamma, neutrons, and electrons[1][2][3][4]. The European Pathfinder project Unicorn proposes to develop novel nano-scintillators for detection of neutrinoless double beta decay(0νββ) for the first time. 0νββ, a rare nuclear process, is at the frontier of neutrino physics, offering insight into the fundamental nature of neutrinos. Cadmium isotopes, such as ¹¹⁶Cd, are promising candidates for such studies due to their favorable properties, including high natural abundance, a large Q_ββvalue, and potential for inverse beta decay detection[5]. In this work, we developed a novel scintillator Cu-doped CdZnS/ZnS QDs for this application. This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the fundamental optical properties and scintillation dynamics of Cu-doped CdZnS/ZnS QDs. The results demonstrate that these QDs exhibit high quantum efficiency, ensuring a strong light yield. Additionally, their large Stokes shift effectively suppresses reabsorption, a critical feature for high-loading and large-volume detectors. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of this material in gamma spectroscopy highlighting its potential as a scintillator for gamma detection, compared to conventional plastic scintillators. This work represents a step forward in the development of advanced scintillators for neutrino physics and rare event detection technologies.

References:

[1] Gandini, Marina, et al. "Efficient, fast and reabsorption-free perovskite nanocrystal-based sensitized plastic scintillators." Nature Nanotechnology 15.6 (2020): 462-468.

[2] Zaffalon, Matteo L., et al. "Extreme γ-ray radiation hardness and high scintillation yield in perovskite nanocrystals." Nature Photonics 16.12 (2022): 860-868.

[3] Anand, Abhinav, et al. "Advances in perovskite nanocrystals and nanocomposites for scintillation applications." ACS Energy Letters 9.3 (2024): 1261-1287.

[4] Antonelli, A., et al. "Development of nanocomposite scintillators for use in high-energy physics." Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 1069 (2024): 169877.

[5] Dolinski, Michelle J., Alan WP Poon, and Werner Rodejohann. "Neutrinoless double-beta decay: status and prospects." Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science 69.1 (2019): 219-251.

nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.

MATSUS

Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.

Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics

The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.

International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics

The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.