Silicon photodiode detector for small-angle X-ray scattering

A photodiode X-ray detector was built to measure small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at a synchrotron-radiation source in conjunction with a double-crystal diffractometer SAXS camera at photon energies between 5 and 11 keV. The photodiode detector response in this energy range is linear at photon counting rates up to 10¹² photons s^-1 and thus it was not necessary to attenuate the monochromatic X-ray beam with calibrated foils. SAXS data taken with a scintillation counter and the photodiode detector are compared, demonstrating marked improvement in counting statistics, rate of data acquisition and signal-to-noise ratio.