Solid-state photon-counting hybrid detector array for high-resolution multi-energy X-ray imaging

We present in this article the development of a photon-counting, energy-discriminating modular detector based on a pixelated CdZnTe sensor coupled pixel-by-pixel to a novel Digital Pixel Sensor (DPS) readout. The detector is designed for munitions inspection, breast X-ray CT and SPECT/MRI. The current DPS design can also be used to read out other solid-state sensors. The prototype detector is 5.5 mm×5.5 mm in size, and consists of 19×19 pixels on a 250 μm pitch. The DPS is designed in a 0.35 μm process, and every pixel includes a preamplifier, a leakage-current subtraction circuit, an auto-zeroed programmable-gain stage, five comparators, a variable-delay reset circuit and five 16 bit counters. The module is expected to operate at high X-ray fluence exceeding 80 MHz/mm2, and to improve resolution and contrast in images, while significantly enhancing their signal-to-noise ratio, and assist in identifying material composition via dual-energy imaging. The detector design, fabrication and anticipated performance are discussed.