Pixel architectures for digital X-ray mammography in crystalline silicon technology

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) technology is attractive for advanced large area imaging applications because of higher transistor mobility, smaller feature sizes and higher density of integration. In particular, for advanced mammography modalities such as tomosynthesis, c-Si is ideally suited to develop the high performance circuitry required for higher contrast, lower noise, and lower X-ray dose while providing high resolution pixels. We present two pixel architectures, a voltage-mediated active pixel sensor (APS) and a logarithmic APS with a focus on large area, diagnostic medical X-ray mammography. Pixel architecture simulations in 0.18 micron c-Si CMOS technology indicate both, a high dynamic range and large signal linearity. The simulation results illustrate that state-of-the-art c-Si technology is promising for medical X-ray imaging applications.