Initial assessment of multilayer silicon detectors for hard X-ray imaging

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Vol. 942; no. C; p. 162414
• Main Authors: Li, Xuan, Chu, Pinghan, Wang, Zhehui, O’Shaughnessy, Christopher M., Morris, Chris, Demarteau, Marcel, Wagner, Robert, Xie, Junqi, Xia, Lei, Zhu, Ren-Yuan, Zhang, Liyuan, Hu, Chen, Adams, Bernhard, Katsoudas, John, Ding, Yujia, Segre, Carlo, Smith, Thomas A., Shih, Yanhua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier B.V 21.10.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics; Hard X-ray imaging; INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; Multilayer; Silicon detector; Multilayer; Hard X-ray imaging; Silicon detector
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2019.162414

Silicon detectors with lower material budget, ultrafast readout and radiation hardness are under developments. These unique features make pixelized silicon sensors a good option for hard X-ray imaging. To verify the performance of spatial resolution and energy sensitivity of silicon sensors to hard X-rays, a two layer setup of Pixelink PL-D725MU sensors has been tested at the Argonne National Laboratory Advanced Photon Source (APS) ID-10 sector with 29.2 keV high photon flux (4.5×108 to 4.5×1010 photons per second) X-rays. Better than 3μm spatial resolution and clear energy characterization have been achieved by both layers. Commercial CMOS sensors with superior spatial resolution could be used for phase contrast imaging in current synchrotrons. These studies pave the path for future multilayer ultrafast silicon sensor development with ns to sub-ns readout speeds in hard X-ray imaging at synchrotrons and XFEL beamlines. •This paper summarizes the latest multiple-layer silicon sensor tests for direct X-ray imaging at APS ID-10 beamline.•Both layers have achieved clear imaging with two different object/target setups.•Better than 3-micron spatial resolutions and clear energy characterization have been delivered.•Simulation studies have been performed as the reference for data results.•Ongoing and future silicon detector R&D work will be able to improve both spatial and temporal resolutions, the results achieved in this paper provides guidance for the future high speed multiple layer silicon imaging experiments.