A little-known semiconductor material is beginning to transform advanced imaging technologies, with implications across healthcare, security and scientific research. Cadmium zinc telluride, known as CZT, is gaining prominence as hospitals, airports and research facilities adopt scanners that rely on its exceptional sensitivity, according to reporting by the BBC.
At London’s Royal Brompton Hospital, the installation of a new CZT-based scanner has reduced certain lung scans from 45 minutes to just 15. The device produces highly detailed three-dimensional images and allows clinicians to use smaller doses of radioactive material, cutting exposure by around 30 per cent. Specialists describe the results as a significant leap in image quality, enabling clearer detection of conditions such as pulmonary embolisms and tiny blood clots associated with long Covid. While CZT detectors have existed for years, large whole-body scanners using the material are a relatively recent development.
Beyond healthcare, CZT’s capabilities are driving demand across multiple sectors. The material can detect individual photons from X-rays and gamma rays with high precision through a direct digital conversion process, retaining detailed information about timing and energy levels. This makes it valuable for airport security scanners, explosives detection systems and scientific instruments, including X-ray telescopes used to study neutron stars and black holes. UK airports already deploy CZT in some security systems, with expectations that its use will expand further.
The growing interest is constrained by supply. CZT is notoriously difficult to manufacture, requiring weeks-long processes to form single crystals in specialised furnaces. Only a small number of organisations globally can produce it at scale, including British firm Kromek, which operates more than 170 furnaces at its facility in north-east England. High demand means manufacturers must prioritise orders, leaving some research projects unable to secure the specific forms they require.
Large-scale scientific infrastructure is also turning to CZT. The UK’s Diamond Light Source synchrotron facility plans to deploy CZT-based detectors as part of a major upgrade, as brighter X-ray beams will overwhelm existing sensors. The material’s growing role highlights how progress in global technology increasingly depends on rare, complex materials whose production capacity remains limited.
