First detective quantum efficiency measurement of 500 μm silicon hybrid pixel sensor with photon counting readout for X-ray medical imaging

We report the performances of a 500 μm pixellated silicon sensor bonded to the photon counting chip Medipix2 [1]. In order to perform an absolute characterization of our detector, we measured both the pre-sampling MTF and NPS with respect to the International standard IEC-62220-1. From those data we have been able to extract the Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) and hence to assess the suitability of our detector for X-ray medical imaging purpose. Due to poor absorption of the Si at 70 kV the DQE peaked at 0.06 for null frequency. Nevertheless, these results are very promising since thicker Si or more absorbing material such as GaAs will soon be available.