Development and Commercialization of a Novel Two-Color Hybrid Pixel X-Ray Detector

Advanced new and upgraded synchrotron X-ray beamlines and sources are being constructed worldwide, and these facilities require fast new X-ray detectors to complement them and foster new scientific applications. In particular, new detector capabilities are desirable in the time domain, for the study of fast material and molecular kinetics, in the intensity domain for keeping up with brighter X-ray sources, and in the energy discrimination domain for combining area detection with new energy resolution techniques. This grant will be used to develop and commercialize a laboratory-ready fast new hybrid pixel array detector, for use in materials science experiments at these facilities. The new detector’s novel properties are the abilities to record two simultaneous X-ray images at different colors or sample times, and the ability to accurately measure much more intense X-rays than previously possible. This detector will be used for many new classes of experiments, such as pump-probe X-ray scattering, X-ray fluorescence, and time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy. In Phase I, a small-sized prototype X-ray detector was built around a 48x48 pixel chip, and software and firmware was developed to operate it and see the two-color or two-snapshot dual images it produces. The prototype detector’s functionality and novel features were demonstrated in X-ray tests, showing that its new dual gate functions can be used to sync the counters to multiple time points in experiments. In Phase II, a larger detector subunit, with 176x192 pixels, was designed, which was tiled in modules for building a camera over 500,000 pixels. New functionality such as dead-time-free readout and extreme high intensity detection were developed and added during the Phase II. Polished and user-friendly software, as well as an accurate computer model for calibration, were designed for preparation to use in laboratory environments. These results have led us to be ready to construct a detector of sufficient size which is required for world-class synchrotron beamlines. In this Phase IIB project, we will design and construct a 2 million pixel detector, made with 64 of the larger sensing subunits. Outfitting existing and new beamlines with this new, versatile detector promises to open the doors to new scientific and technological breakthroughs in many fields. These include those studying fast processes in materials, such as microscopically visualizing batteries during their operation, measuring nanoscale device motions, or observing and improving solar cell performance.