Charge sharing effect on 600 μm pitch pixelated CZT detector for imaging applications

We are currently investigating the spatial resolution of highly pixelated Cadmium Zinc Telluride （CZT） detector for imaging application. A 20 mm × 20 mm× 5 mm CZT substrate was fabricated with 600 μm pitch pixels （500μm anode pixels with 100 μm gap） and coplanar cathode. Charge sharing between two pixels was studied using collimated a 122 keV gamma ray source. Experiments show a resolution of 125 μm FWHM for double-pixel charge sharing events when the 600 μm pixelated and 5 mm thick CZT detector biased at -1000 V. In addition, we analyzed the energy response of the 600 μm pitch pixelated CZT detector.     

Study of 2D interpolating readout for a micro-pattern gaseous detector

The two-dimensional interpolating readout, a new readout concept based on resistive anode structure, was studied for the micro-pattern gaseous detector. Within its high spatial resolution, the interpolating resistive readout structure leads to an enormous reduction of electronic channels compared with pure pixel devices, and also makes the detector more reliable and robust, which is attributed to its resistive anode relieving discharge. A GEM (gaseous electron multiplier) detector with 2D interpolating resistive readout structure was set up and the performance of the detector was studied with 55Fe 5.9 keV X-ray. The detector worked stably at the gain up to 3.5 × 104 without any discharge. An energy resolution of about 19%, and a spatial resolution of about 219 μm (FWHM) were reached, and good imaging performance was also obtained.     

Test and simulation of a MICROMEGAS detector

We report on the recent test results of a MICROMEGAS detector in terms of position resolution, time resolution and efficiency. With a Ar + CO₂ (10%) gas mixture and a strip pitch of 200 μm an accuracy of 80 μm in sigma on the position has been measured. The time resolution is better than 20 ns and a cosmic ray detection efficiency of 94% was obtained. A Monte Carlo simulation indicates that transverse diffusion, gain fluctuation and electronic noise limit the position resolution.     

Study of the characteristics of a scintillation array and single pixels for nuclear medicine imaging applications

By using a pixelized Nal（T1） crystal array coupled to a R2486 PSPMT, the characteristics of the array and of a single pixel, such as the light output, energy resolution, peak-to-valley ratio （P/V） and imaging performance of the detector were studied. The pixel size of the NaI（TI） scintillation pixel array is 2 mm×2 mm×5 mm. There are in total 484 pixels in a 22×22 matrix. In the pixel spectrum an average peak-to-valley ratio （P/V） of 16 was obtained. In the image of all the pixels, good values for the Peak-to- Valley ratios could be achieved, namely a mean of 17, a maximum of 45 and the average peak FWHM （the average value of intrinsic spatial resolution） of 2.3 mm. However, the PSPMT non-uniform response and the scintillation pixels array inhomogeneities degrade the imaging performance of the detector.     

Design and experimental study of a two-dimensional position sensitive X-ray detector

A prototype of a two-dimensional position sensitive X-ray detector was designed and constructed for small angle X-ray scattering experiments at BSFR (Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility). The detector is based on MWPC with cathode strip readout, and has a sensitive area of 200 mm×200 mm. The spatial resolution (FWHM) of about 210 μm along the anode wire direction was obtained from the ⁵⁵Fe X-ray test of the detector.     

Test of a fine pitch SOI pixel detector with laser beam

A silicon pixel detector with fine pitch size of 19 μm× 19 μm, developed based on SOI(silicon-oninsulator) technology, was tested under the illumination of infrared laser pulses. As an alternative method for particle beam tests, the laser pulses were tuned to very short duration and small transverse profile to simulate the tracks of MIPs(minimum ionization particles) in silicon. Hit cluster sizes were measured with focused laser pulses propagating through the SOI detector perpendicular to its surface and most of the induced charge was found to be collected inside the seed pixel. For the first time, the signal amplitude as a function of the applied bias voltage was measured for this SOI detector, deepening understanding of its depletion characteristics.     

Investigation of the time performance of a LYSO array for TOF-PET

Positron Emission Tomography(PET) using time-of-flight information,which can greatly improve the quality of the reconstructed image,has recently become an exciting topic.In this work,3.2 mmx3.2 mmx25 mm finger-like LYSO crystals were used to make a 5x5 array,coupled to the Hamamatsu H8500 photomultiplier tube(PMT) as a detector.A fast leading-edge discriminator was designed for the LYSO-H8500 detector.Average coincidence time resolution FWHM of 330 ps was obtained for the LYSO detector with a reference BaF_2 detector,whose time resolution for 511 keV γ-rays was FWHM 150 ps.Time resolution FWHM of 294 ps was calculated for the LYSO detector,and coincidence time resolution of FHWM 415 ps can be expected for two identical LYSO detectors.     

Energy-Selective X-Ray Ghost Imaging

X-ray ghost imaging(XGI) has opened up a new avenue for damage-free medical imaging.Here energy-selective spectroscopic XGI under poor illumination is demonstrated with a single-pixel detector for the first time.The key device was a specially fabricated Au mask incorporating a new modulation pattern design,by which means images of a real object were obtained with a spatial resolution of 10 μm and a spectral energy resolution of about 1.5 keV.Compressed sensing was also introduced to improve the image quality.Our proof-of-principle experiment extends the methodology of XGI to make possible the retrieval of spectral images with only a single-pixel detector,and paves the way for potential applications in many fields such as biology,material science and environmental sensing.     

A highly pixelated CdZnTe detector based on Topmetal-II~- sensor

Topmetal-Ⅱ~-is a low noise CMOS pixel direct charge sensor with a pitch of 83 μm.CdZnTe is an excellent semiconductor material for radiation detection.The combination of CdZnTe and the sensor makes it possible to build a detector with high spatial resolution.In our experiments,an epoxy adhesive is used as the conductive medium to connect the sensor and cadmium zinc telluride(CdZnTe).The diffusion coefficient and charge efficiency of electrons are measured at a low bias voltage of-2 V,and the image of a single alpha particle is clear with a reasonable spatial resolution.A detector with such a structure has the potential to be applied in X-ray imaging systems with further improvements of the sensor.     

Performance evaluation of a parallel-hole collimated detector module for animal SPECT imaging

We have built and investigated a detector module for animal SPECT imaging, especially for use in large field of view (FOV) conditions. The module consists of a PMT-based detector and a parallel-hole collimator with an effective area of 80 mm × 80 mm. The detector is composed of a NaI scintillation crystal array coupled to four H8500 position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PS-PMT). The intrinsic energy resolution of the detector is 11.5% at 140 keV on average. The planar spatial resolution of the module changes from 2.2 mm to 5.1 mm at different source-to-collimator distances with an unchanged sensitivity of about 34cps/MBq. Additionally, the SPECT Micro Deluxe Phantom imaging was performed with a radius of rotation (ROR) of 40 mm. Using the FBP reconstruction algorithm, a high performance image was obtained, indicating the feasibility of this detector module.     

Polarization insensitive arrayed-input spectrometer chip based on silicon-on-insulator echelle grating

We demonstrate a polarization insensitive arrayed-input spectrometer using echelle diffraction grating(EDG)for hyperspectral imaging. The EDG consists of 65 input waveguides and 129 output waveguides, allowing spectral measurements of 65 image pixels at a time when used in combination with a micro-electromechanical system micro mirror array. The spectral resolution reaches 7.8 nm for wavelengths ranging from 1250 to1700 nm. The measured loss is-2 d B, and the crosstalk is lower than-20 d B. The 3 μm silicon-on-insulator platform provides the device with polarization insensitive characteristics. The chip size is only 6 mm × 10 mm.     

Development of a sub-millimeter position-sensitive gas detector

Position-sensitive thin-gap gas detectors have been developed in the laboratory, based on the ATLAS Thin Gap Chamber. The signal collection structure has been redesigned while retaining other configurations to keep the good time performance of the detector. The position resolution was measured using cosmic muons for two versions of the detector and found to be 409 μm and 233 μm respectively. This paper presents the structure of these two detector prototypes, with the position resolution measurement method and results.     

Beam test of a one-dimensional position sensitive chamber on synchrotron radiation

A one-dimensional single-wire chamber was developed to provide high position resolution for powder diffraction experiments with synchrotron radiation. A diffraction test using the sample of SiO₂ has been accomplished at 1W2B laboratory of Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Source. The data of the beam test were analyzed and some diffraction angles were obtained. The experimental results were in good agreement with standard data from ICDD powder diffraction file. The precision of diffraction angles was 1% to 4.7%. Most of the relative errors between measured values of diffraction angles and existing data were less than 1%. As for the detector, the best position resolution in the test was 138 μm (σ value) with an X-ray tube. Finally, discussions of the results were given. The major factor that affected the precision of measurement was deviation from the flat structure of the detector. The effect was analyzed and the conclusion was reached that it would be the optimal measurement scheme when the distance between the powder sample and detector was from 400 mm to 600 mm.     

A normal-pressure MWPC for beam diagnostics at RIBLL2

A normal pressure MWPC for beam diagnostics at RIBLL2 has been developed, which has a sensitive area of 80mm×80mm and consists of three-layer wire planes. The anode plane is designed with a wider frame to reduce the discharge and without using protection wires. The detector has been tested with a (55)Fe X-ray source and a 200 MeV/u(12)C beam from CSRm. A position resolution better than 250 μm along the anode wires and a detection efficiency higher than 90% have been achieved.     

Design and performance of a 2-D multi-wire position sensitive X-ray detector

A 2-D multi-wire position sensitive detector for X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering studies is described. The detector has an active area of 100 mm × 100 mm and consists of an anode plane with 10 μm SS wires at 3 mm spacing and a pair of orthogonal cathode readout planes with 25 μm SS wires placed at 1.5 mm spacing. The position information is obtained using charge division method and recorded using a laboratory built data acquisition system. The resolution and gas gain was measured for 5.9 keV X-rays (⁵⁵Fe-source) as a function of the anode wire voltage and gas pressure. It was observed that the proportional region of the PSD at 100 kPa pressure extended up to a high voltage value of around 1.5 kV and it shifted to high values up to 2 kV for gas pressure of 300 kPa. The energy resolution improved from 18% (FWHM) to 12% with increase in pressure. The spatial resolution of the PSD also showed improvement, with a value of 1.2 mm × 1.4 mm at 300 kPa gas pressure. A maximum gain of 5 × 10⁴ is obtained.     

A large-area GEM detector using a novel self-stretching technique

A Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector with an effective area of 300 mm×300 mm has been constructed using a novel self-stretching technique, which allows a highly flexible and efficient GEM detector assembly free of glue or spacers. This makes the re-opening and repair of the GEM detectors possible and significantly reduces the scrap rate in the mass production of large-area GEM detectors. With the technique, the assembly time can be limited to a few hours, a factor of ten improvement compared to that using gluing techniques. The details of design and assembly procedure of the 300 mm×300 mm GEM detector are described in this paper. This detector was tested with 8 keV X-rays for the effective gain, energy resolution and performance uniformity. The results show that the typical energy resolution is 20% at an effective gain of about 10^4, with fairly good uniformity.     

Design and development of compact readout electronics with silicon photomultiplier array for a compact imaging detector

This work aims at developing compact readout electronics for a compact imaging detector module with silicon photomultiplier (SPM) array. The detector module consists of a LYSO crystal array coupling with a SensL's 4×4 SPM array. A compact multiplexed readout based on a discretized positioning circuit (DPC) was developed to reduce the readout channels from 16 to 4 outputs. Different LYSO crystal arrays of 4×4, 8×8 and 12×12 with pixel sizes of 3.2, 1.6 and 1.0 mm respectively, have been tested with the compact readout board using a ¹³⁷Cs source. The initial results show that the compact imaging detector module with the compact multiplexed readout could clearly resolve 1 mm× 1 mm× 10 mm LYSO scintillation crystal array except those at the edges. The detector's intrinsic spatial resolution up to 1 mm can be achieved with the 3 mm×3 mm size SPMArray4 through light sharing and compact multiplexed readout. Our results indicate that this detector module is feasible for the development of high-resolution compact PET.     

Secondary electron time detector for mass measurements at CSRe

The Isochronous Mass Spectrometry is a high accurate mass spectrometer. A secondary electrons time detector has been developed and used for mass measurements. Secondary electrons from a thin carbon foil are accelerated by an electric field and deffected 180° by a magnetic field onto a micro-channel plate. The time detector has been tested with alpha particles and a time resolution of 197 ps (FWHM) was obtained in the laboratory. A mass resolution around 8×10-6 for m/m was achieved by using this time detector in a pilot mass measurement experiment.     

13.5 nm Schwarzschild microscope with high magnification and high resolution

A Schwarzschild microscope with a numerical aperture of 0.2 and a magnification of 130 in a 100μm field of view(FOV)is designed and is working at 13.5 nm.Meanwhile,a CCD is used as a detector with a pixel size of 13μm×13μm and imaging area of 13 mm×13 mm.The imaging quality with tolerances of system and errors of mirrors are considered.We obtain that the best on-axes object resolution can be up to about 200 nm,the average value is 230 nm,and the resolution is about 360 nm at 80μm FOV.     

Prototype of a large neutron detector based on MWPC

A prototype of large-area position sensitive neutron detector was designed and constructed according to the requirements of the Small-Angle Scattering spectrometer of China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS).The detector was based on the 3He neutron convertor and MWPC with an effective area of 650 mm×650 mm.A prototype was completed and tested with 55Fe X-ray.The high-pressure vessel was designed and constructed with high-strength aluminum alloy.A position resolution of about 4.6mm×2.3 mm(FWHM)and efficiency65%for neutrons with wavelength of 1.8?was determined after the operational gas filled.