X-ray detector method and apparatus for obtaining spatial, energy, and/or timing information using signals from neighboring electrodes in an electrode array

摘要

A method for obtaining both spatial and energy resolution in compound semiconductor x-ray detectors using charge carriers of only a single polarity. A negatively biased cathode contact is applied to one side of a block detector material and an array of anode stripes is applied to the other side. Absorbed x-rays generate charge clouds in the detector block, and charge sensitive preamplifiers measure the time varying charges q_i(t) induced on the anodes by the motion of these charge clouds within the detector. For each stripe j, one or more secondary signals Q_k,m(t) are formed as weighted sums of the signals q_k(t) from the stripe j and a combination of its near neighbors. One or another of these signals Q_k,m(t) can then be processed to obtain the energy of the absorbed x-ray, the position where it was absorbed, both laterally and in depth, and the time of the absorption.