Transparent X-ray Camera

Constant improvement in x-ray light sources and experimental sophistication has been advanced well beyond the capabilities of commercially available x-ray detection systems. A precise understanding of beam position, intensity and beam profile from the front end of the beamline all the way to the sample is needed to fully utilize the capabilities of modern light sources. A key deficiency is the lack of in situ x-ray detectors that can image and spatially resolve a beam without distortion, with linearity over a large range of beam fluxes. There are detectors that meet some of these requirements, but no commercially available detector meets them all at the same time. This capability gap in the detector market leaves scientists unable to answer fundamental questions enabled by light source capabilities. Sydor Instruments, in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory will advance the development of a commercial imaging beam monitor with functionality that is nonexistent today in the commercial marketplace – a Transparent X-ray Camera that provides beam imaging, spatial resolution, flux and time structure in a single device without taking up significant beamline space. The proposed program will leverage the current developments at Brookhaven National Laboratory to transition the technology from the laboratory into a commercial instrument. The Phase I effort will demonstrate the feasibility of developing a Transparent X-ray Camera to meet immediate and future light sources beam imaging needs. The base design would consist of a Transparent X-ray Camera with pixels smaller than 50 µm in a 32x32 array, with supporting electronics that will provide the dynamic range, low current sensitivity and feedback controls required by the target applications. These will be the primary technical challenges during Phase I. In parallel, Phase I will research the feasibility of developing larger active area sensors, high-pixel density sensors and multi-mode sensor operation capabilities to expand the utility of the Transparent X-ray Camera. This will enable an assessment of the technology’s ability to meet a broader demand for imaging devices. Commercialization of the Transparent X-ray Camera will provide researchers with unprecedented in-situ x-ray beam imaging and characterization capabilities not available today in commercial x-ray detectors. This information will allow researchers to efficiently optimize x-ray beam characteristics to the intended research goal across many disciplines in the physical and life sciences.