{"id":36501,"date":"2025-12-16T07:10:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/?p=36501"},"modified":"2026-01-05T12:44:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:44:04","slug":"miracle-material-revolutionizing-medicine-science-and-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/miracle-material-revolutionizing-medicine-science-and-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Miracle Material Revolutionizing Medicine, Science, and Security: CZT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hard-to-produce semiconductor CZT<\/strong> powers a revolution in technology by providing high precision<\/strong> in many fields, ranging from lung imaging<\/strong> to space research<\/strong> and security scans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new generation Veriton-CT SPECT\/CT 64 scanner<\/strong>, installed last year at the Royal Brompton Hospital<\/strong> in London<\/strong>, reduced the time patients spend on lung examinations<\/strong> from 45 minutes<\/strong> to 15 minutes<\/strong>. Behind this remarkable acceleration is not only advancements in image processing software<\/strong>, but also cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)<\/strong>, long known in the scientific world as the “hard-to-produce miracle material<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each Device Costs \u00a31 Million<\/strong> Dr. Kshama Wechalekar<\/strong>, head of the hospital’s nuclear medicine<\/strong> and PET unit<\/strong>, states that the images produced by the device possess an extraordinary level of detail<\/strong>, calling it an impressive achievement in terms of both engineering<\/strong> and physics<\/strong>. The CZT detectors<\/strong> used in the scanner installed last August make it easier to detect very small clots<\/strong> or large vessel blockages<\/strong> in patients’ lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The device, worth approximately \u00a31 million<\/strong> ($1.34 million), works by detecting gamma rays<\/strong> emitted by the radioactive substance<\/strong> injected into the patient. However, thanks to the high sensitivity<\/strong> of CZT, the radioactive dose<\/strong> used can be reduced by approximately 30%<\/strong> compared to previous systems. Integrating these detectors, previously used only in small devices, into full-body scanners<\/strong> is a significant new step. Although CZT<\/strong> itself is not new, its production is extremely laborious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK-based Kromek<\/strong> is one of the few companies in the world capable of producing this material on an industrial scale<\/strong>. At Kromek’s facility, a production line consisting of 170 small furnaces<\/strong> melts special powders and resolidifies them over a process lasting weeks to form single-crystal structure CZT blocks<\/strong>. The company’s founding CEO Arnab Basu<\/strong> emphasizes that the crystals are formed by “aligning at the atomic level<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The resulting semiconductor material<\/strong> can detect photons<\/strong> in X-rays<\/strong> and gamma rays<\/strong> with extraordinary accuracy<\/strong>. When a high-energy photon<\/strong> hits CZT, the released electrons<\/strong> allow for image creation via single-step digital conversion<\/strong>. This ensures that energy<\/strong>, timing<\/strong>, and spectral information<\/strong> are processed without loss, meaning the scanner can produce “color<\/strong>” or spectroscopic images<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CZT technology<\/strong> is used not only in healthcare but also in airport security<\/strong> and explosive detection systems<\/strong>. Kromek’s sensors<\/strong> are currently used in some airports in the UK<\/strong> and are also found in baggage scanners<\/strong> in the USA<\/strong>. The company expects CZT usage<\/strong> in hand luggage scanners<\/strong> to become widespread within a few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond these fields, CZT is also used in space sciences<\/strong>. For example, some research institutions use CZT in space telescopes<\/a><\/em><\/strong> carried by high-altitude balloons<\/strong>. Thin CZT layers<\/strong> of only 0.8 mm<\/strong> are needed for these detectors, which can capture X-rays<\/strong> emitted from plasma<\/strong> around neutron stars<\/strong> and black holes<\/strong>. However, since production is difficult and demand is high, project-based production<\/strong> is challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This material is also used in particle accelerators<\/strong>. X-rays<\/strong> produced in facilities where electrons<\/strong> rotate around a giant ring at speeds close to the speed of light<\/strong> are used in material analysis<\/strong>. Significant increases in X-ray brightness<\/strong> are expected in new beamlines with enhanced electrical properties. However, existing detectors lack the capacity to handle this intensity. The Diamond Light Source cyclotron<\/strong> in the UK<\/strong> also requires this material for its half-billion-pound major upgrade<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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