Resolution and noise properties of scintillator coated X-ray detectors

The imaging properties of X-ray pixel detectors depend on the quantum efficiency of X-rays, the generated signal of each X-ray photon and the distribution of the generated signal between pixels. In a scintillator coated device the signal is generated both by X-ray photons captured in the scintillator and by X-ray photons captured directly in the semiconductor. The Signal-to-Noise Ratio in the image is then a function of the number of photons captured in each of these processes and the yield, in terms of electron-hole pairs produced in the semiconductor, of each process. The spatial resolution is primarily determined by the light spreading within the scintillator. In a pure semiconductor detector the signal is generated by one process only. The Signal-to-Noise Ratio in the image is proportional to the number of X-ray photons captured within the sensitive layer. The spatial resolution is affected by the initial charge cloud generated in the semiconductor and any diffusion of carriers between the point of interaction and the readout electrode. In this paper we discuss the theory underlying the imaging properties of scintillator coated X-ray imaging detectors. The model is verified by simulations using MCNP and by experimental results. The results from the two-layer detector are compared with those from a pure semiconductor X-ray detector. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.