We have fabricated several monolithic x-ray detector arrays from Cd_0.9Zn_0.1Te material. The principle advantages of this material are its relatively high stopping power and room temperature operation. Recently fabricated linear arrays exhibit improved spatial and energy resolution as compared to our previous versions. Each array is 25.3 mm long with 32 independent detector elements, yielding a center-to-center spacing of 0.8 mm. Gaps of less than 100 micrometers , but with greater than 2 gigaohms of resistance, separate the pixel contacts. Our results indicate that smaller spacings and gap widths are possible with our current fabrication methods. The arrays have been operated in a pulse counting mode with photon energy discrimination. Results for energy resolution and spatial response are presented. Examples of low dose x ray transmission images obtained with a prototype linear scanner utilizing multiple arrays are shown here. By using the energy discrimination capability of the arrays and electronic readout, we have also been able to generate dual-energy images of various samples.

Date Published: 12 July 1994
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 2278, X-Ray and UV Detectors, (12 July 1994);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2278:
X-Ray and UV Detectors
Richard B. Hoover; Mark W. Tate, Editor(s)