LARGE AREA, POSITION SENSITIVE X-RAY DETECTOR

HIGH INTENSITY, SYNCHROTRON SOURCES ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCINGA HIGH FLUX OF MONOCHROMATIC X-RAYS. THIS RESULTED IN IMPORTANT ADVANCES IN THE STUDY AND DETERMINATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF LARGE MOLECULES. ALTHOUGH THESE SOURCES REPRESENT SUCH A MAJOR ADVANCE IN TECHNOLOGY, AT PRESENT THERE ARE NO LARGE AREA DETECTORS WITH BOTH THE HIGH FLUX CAPABILITY AND GOOD SPATIAL RESOLUTION NEEDED TO MAKE USE OFTHE FULL POTENTIAL OF X-RAY DIFFRACTION MEASUREMENTS. NEW SYSTEMS ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND SOME PROGRESS IS BEINGMADE, BUT IT APPEARS THAT SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS CAN ONLY BE MADE BY USING A TOTALLY NEW APPROACH. TO ADDRESS THIS SITUATION, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP AN INNOVATIVE SOLID STATE, POSITION SENSITIVE X-RAY DETECTOR TECHNOLOGY WHICH WILL HAVETHE PERFORMANCE NEEDED TO MORE FULLY UTILIZE THE POWER OF MODERN SYNCHROTRON SOURCES. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOCONDUCTOR TECHNIQUES COMBINED WITH ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE A LARGE AREA DETECTOR (POTENTIALLY METERS SQUARE) WITH 100 MUM SPATIAL RESOLUTION.