Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A material, comprising:a first metal halide that is operative to function as a scintillator, where the first metal halide excludes cesium iodide and cesium bromide; anda layer comprising a second metal halide that is disposed on a surface of the first metal halide and where the halogen atom of the layer has a lower atomic number than a halogen of the scintillator; andfurther comprising a surface layer disposed in a surface of the second metal halide; where the surface layer comprises a third metal halide that has a lower water solubility than the second metal halide. 2. The material of claim 1, wherein the first metal halide has a composition that is described by formula (1):M1X1a:Yb  (1)where M1 is a metal that is lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, calcium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, gadolinium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium, or neodymium, X1 is a halogen, where the halogen is chlorine, bromine, iodine, astanine, or a combination thereof and were Y is a codopant and comprises and comprises one or more of thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, gadolinium, calcium, potassium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium or neodymium, where M1 and Y are different elements, where a has a value of 1 to 4 and where b has a value of 0 to about 1 and where the second metal halide has a composition that is described by formula (5)M1X2a:Yb  (5)where ML, Y, a and bare detailed above in the Formula (1), where X2 in the Formula (5) is a halogen that is fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or a combination thereof and that has at least one halogen atom having a lower atomic weight than X1 in the Formula (1). 3. The material of claim 2, where b has a value of about 0.001 to about 0.5 and where “a” has a value of 1, 2 or 3. 4. The material of claim 2, where here when X2 and X1 both involve a combination of halogen atoms, the combined atomic weight of X2 is less than X1 or alternatively, when X2 involves a combination of halogen atoms, but X1 contains only a single halogen atom, then X2 contains at least one halogen atom that has a lower atomic weight than the single halogen atom contained in X1. 5. The material of claim 1, where the first metal halide has a composition that is described by Formula (2), Formula (3) or Formula (4):M1lM2mX1a:Yb  (2)M1lM2mM3nX1a:Yb  (3) andM1lM2mM3nM4oX1a: Yb  (4),where in the Formulas (2), (3) and (4), where applicable, M1 is lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, gadolinium, cesium, thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, calcium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium, or neodymium, M2 is selected from the group consisting of boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, sodium, potassium, calcium, gadolinium, rubidium, cesium, thallium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium, or neodymium, M3 and M1 are different from one another and are one of strontium, calcium, barium, gadolinum, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium, or neodymium, X1 is a halogen selected from chlorine, bromine, iodine, astinine, or a combination thereof; Y is a codopant and comprises and comprises one or more of thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, gadolinium, calcium, potassium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium or neodymium, where 1 is 0 to 3, m is 0 to 3, n is 0 to 3, and o is 0 to 3, and where the sum of 1+m in Formula (2) is not equal to 0, where the sum of 1+m, m+n, 1+n and 1+m+n is not equal to 0 in Formula (3) and where the sum of l+m, m+n, 1+n, 1+o, m+o, n+o and 1+m+n+o is not equal to 0 in the Formula (4); where in the Formulas (2), (3) and (4), “a” is 1 to 8, and “b” is 0 to about 1; where in the Formula (2), M1, M2 and Y are different from each other and only one of M1 or M2 is a rare earth metal; where in the Formula (3), ML, M2, M3 and Y are different from each other and at least one of ML, M2 and M3 is a rare earth metal and where embodiment in the Formula (3), M, M3 and Y are different from each other and may or may not be rare earth metals and where in the Formula (4), ML, M2, M3 and M1 and Y are each different from each other and at least one of M, M2, M3 and M4 and Y are rare earth metals. 6. The material of claim 5, where the second metal halide has a composition that is described by formula (5)M1X2a:Yb  (5)where M1 is a metal that is lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, calcium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, gadolinium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium, or neodymium, X1 is a halogen, where the halogen is chlorine, bromine, iodine, astanine, or a combination thereof and were Y is a codopant and comprises and comprises one or more of thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, gadolinium, calcium, potassium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium or neodymium, where M1 and Y are different elements, where a has a value of 1 to 4 and where b has a value 0 to about 1 and where X2 in the Formula (5) is a halogen that is fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or a combination thereof and that has at least one halogen atom having a lower atomic weight than X1 in the Formulas (2), (3) and (4). 7. The material of claim 5, where the second metal halide has a composition that is described by formulas (6) through (8)M1lM2mX2a:Yb  (6)M1lM2mM3nX2a:Yb  (7) andM1lM2mM3nM4oX2a: Yb  (8),where M1, M2, M3, M4, X, Y, l, m, n, o, a and b from the Formulas (6), (7) and (8) are defined above in Formulas (2) (3) and (4) and where X2 from the Formulas (6), (7) and (8) has a lower atomic weight than X1 in Formulas (2), (3) and (4). 8. The material of claim 6, where when X2 and X1 both involve a combination of halogen atoms, the combined atomic weight of X2 is less than X1 or alternatively, when X2 involves a combination of halogen atoms, but X1 contains only a single halogen atom, then X2 contains at least one halogen atom that has a lower atomic weight than the single halogen atom contained in X1. 9. The material of claim 6, where b has a value of about 0.001 to about 0.5 and where “a” has a value of 2 to 3. 10. The material of claim 1, where the first metal halide comprises NaI:Tl, KI:Tl, CsI:Tl, LaCl3:Ce, LaBr3:Ce, LuCl3:Ce, LuBr3:Ce, SrI2:Eu, or a combination thereof. 11. The material of claim 1, where the second metal halide comprises NaF:Tl, CsF:Tl, BaF2, CaF2(Eu), LaF3:Ce, LaBr3:Ce, LuCl3:Ce, LuBr3:Ce, SrF2:Eu, LaFBr2, LaF2Br, or a combination thereof. 12. An article comprising the material of claim 1. 13. The article of claim 12, where the article is a positron emission tomography device, a computed tomography device, or single photon emission computed tomography device. 14. A method comprising:disposing on a surface of a first metal halide a layer comprising a second metal halide; where the first metal halide is a scintillator, where the first metal halide excludes cesium iodide and cesium bromide; and where the second metal halide has a lower water solubility than the first metal halide and where a halogen atom of the surface layer has a lower atomic number than a halogen atom of the scintillator;where the method further comprises disposing a third metal layer on a surface of the second metal halide, the third metal halide that has a lower water solubility than the second metal halide. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first metal halide has a composition that is described by formula (1):M1X1a:Yb  (1)where M1 is a metal that is lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, calcium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, gadolinium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium, or neodymium, X1 is a halogen, where the halogen is chlorine, bromine, iodine, astanine, or a combination thereof and were Y is a codopant and comprises and comprises one or more of thallium, copper, silver, lead, bismuth, indium, tin, antimony, tantalum, tungsten, strontium, barium, boron, magnesium, gadolinium, calcium, potassium, cerium, yttrium, scandium, lanthanum, lutetium, praseodymium, terbium, ytterbium, samarium, europium, holmium, dysprosium, erbium, thulium or neodymium, where M1 and Y are different elements, where a has a value of 1 to 4 and where b has a value of 0 to about 1 and where the second metal halide has a composition that is described by formula (5)M1X2a:Yb  (5)where ML, Y, a and bare detailed above in the Formula (1), where X2 in the Formula (5) is a halogen that is fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or a combination thereof and that has at least one halogen atom having a lower atomic weight than X1 in the Formula (1). 16. The method of claim 15, where b has a value of about 0.001 to about 0.5 and where “a” has a value of 1, 2 or 3. 17. The method of claim 15, where when X2 and X1 both involve a combination of halogen atoms, the combined atomic weight of X2 is less than X1 or alternatively, when X2 involves a combination of halogen atoms, but X1 contains only a single halogen atom, then X2 contains at least one halogen atom that has a lower atomic weight than the single halogen atom contained in X1. 18. The method of claim 14, where disposing on the first metal halide is produced by chlorinating or fluorinating the surface of a first metal halide.