Fast, Photon Counting Detector Arrays with Internal Gain

Third generation x-ray synchrotron facilities, such as Argonne National Laboratory¿s Advanced Photon Source, create high-brilliance x-ray beams that are focused to small spot sizes on a wide variety of materials and biological samples. The efficient use of these expensive facilities requires that the beam lines have fast, sensitive, low-noise x-ray detectors. However, commercially available x-ray detectors cannot satisfy all of the requirements of this demanding application. Therefore, this project will investigate the use silicon-based x-ray detector arrays for synchrotron beam line studies. These detector arrays will have internal gain for very fast response and nanosecond-scale timing resolution. The very high count-rate that can be achieved with such detectors would be very beneficial for X-ray studies conducted at synchrotron beam lines. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of producing X-ray detector arrays with fast response (~1-2 ns) and excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee The proposed detectors should be very useful in X-ray detection studies conducted at synchrotron beam lines. Additional applications include nuclear and particle physics, astronomy, health physics, medical imaging, nuclear non-proliferation, and nondestructive studies.