Glassy scintillators enhancing high-resolution X-ray imaging

Scintillators are essential components of indirect X-ray imaging systems, fundamentally influencing the systems' detection sensitivity and spatial resolution. Compared with conventional crystalline materials, glassy scintillators possess remarkable advantages, including excellent optical transparency, large-area processability, geometric adaptability, and compositional tunability. Despite recent developments in materials science, a comprehensive understanding of the design principles and performance optimization strategies for glassy scintillators remains limited. In this review, we systematically summarize recent advances in high-performance glassy scintillators, encompassing inorganic, hybrid organic-inorganic, and purely organic systems. Furthermore, we present a detailed analysis of glassy design strategies and fundamental photophysical mechanisms as well as the influence of these strategies and mechanisms on X-ray imaging performance. Finally, key factors governing the concurrent realization of high radioluminescence efficiency and effective light management are critically discussed to establish rational design guidelines for next-generation high-resolution scintillators.