Journal of Applied Crystallography

Volume 35, Part 4 (August 2002)

research papers

J. Appl. Cryst. (2002). 35, 471-476 [ doi:10.1107/S0021889802008403 ]

A pixel detector with large dynamic range for high photon counting rates

J.-F. Bérar, L. Blanquart, N. Boudet, P. Breugnon, B. Caillot, J.-C. Clemens, P. Delpierre, I. Koudobine, C. Mouget, R. Potheau and I. Valin

Abstract: In this paper, results obtained from a prototype photon counting detector are presented. The pixel size is 330 µm × 330 µm for a total area of 16 µm × 40 mm. The detector works at room temperature and its dynamic response ranges from 0.01 up to 10⁶ photons pixel^-1 s^-1. An energy resolution of about 1.5 keV has been measured. Very encouraging small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and diffraction patterns were obtained, demonstrating the success of the prototype. Plans for future developments based on this study are presented.

Keywords: pixels; charge sharing; photon counting; X-rays; semiconductor detector.