Development Of Novel Hg2I2 Detector For High Speed, High Spatial Resolution Direct Detection X-Ray Imaging

We propose the development of a very new sensor material for direct detection of x-ray, the mercurous iodide Hg2I2 (as opposed to mercuric iodide, HgI2), which can address most if not all of the limitations associated with currently available x-ray sensors, both semiconductors and scintillators. Despite years of research, no explored candidate can well satisfy both the demands on spatial resolution in the micron level, and the requirement on real time and time resolved data at high speed/frame rate at the same time, as called for by DTRA as one of the research efforts supporting the Counter-WMD/CBRNE missions. Our proposed Hg2I2 sensor can effectively provide the answer to this call.Hg2I2 has many technological and scientific advantages over CdTe, HgI2 and other COTS candidates include excellent performance potential, compatible with available electronics and most important of all, material availability/scalability. The focus will be on both the material engineering aspect of the material itself (i.e., crystal growth) along with fine-pitch pixel device fabrication development, x-ray response measurement as well as theoretical modeling/calculation to demonstrate its feasibility of meeting or exceeding desired specification.