Low-Dimensional Semiconducting Scintillators

In recent times, many researchers have been developing devices that exceed the conventional capabilities by constructing a low-dimensional structure and exploiting its unique and advantageous properties. These are entirely different from those of the conventional materials due to quantum confinement effects, and their applications are called "nanotechnology". This chapter shows that a demonstration of the "nanotechnology" in the development of scintillators, a kind of ionizing radiation sensor, that can simultaneously achieve both a quick response and a large signal output, which has been difficult by using conventional bulk materials.\nThe second section explains the physics of semiconducting scintillators including the thermal quenching (TQ) that prevents the operation at room temperature (RT). In the third section, a quantum confinement system (QCS) is introduced to solve this problem, and the physical effects are described. In the fourth section, low-dimensional (LD) semiconducting scintillators are demonstrated to show the possibilities of developing them with very short decay time constants and practical emission efficiency at RT. The fifth section contains the summary with a guide for the development of new LD semiconducting systems that will be an important field in the development of inorganic scintillators in the following decade