General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

George E Possin

Robert F Kwasnick

Ching-Yeu Wei

Douglas Albagli

Harold G Parks

Jianqiang Liu

Jonathan David Short

William W Piper

Wen Li

Jack D Kingsley

Conilee G Kirkpatrick

Donald E Castleberry

Aaron Judy Couture

Richard J Saia

William Andrew Hennessy

Paul Richard Granfors

Gregory Scott Zeman

Roger S Salisbury

Sung Su Han

Ji Ung Lee

Kent Charles Burr

Brian W Giambattista

James F Norton

David E Holden

David Michael Hoffman

John Eric Tkaczyk

James Wilson Rose

Joseph John Shiang

Jeffrey Wayne Eberhard

Brian David Yanoff

Scott William Petrick

Robert Gideon Wodnicki

Steven Jude Duclos

Abdelaziz Ikhlef

Dominic A Cusano

William Edward Burdick, Jr

Rowland F Saunders

Habib Vafi

James Walter LeBlanc

Richard Aufrichtig

Ping Xue

Siegfried Aftergut

Bing A Shen

William D Barber

James Enrico Sabatini

John Moore Boudry

Michael C DeJule

Michael S Adler

William C Hughes

Ji-Ung Lee

Donna Marie Sherman

Henri M Rougeot

Rogerio Geraldes Rodrigues

Larry R Skrenes

Virgil L Stout

Masahiro Moritake

Linda M Garverick

Wei Ching-Yeu

Ching Y Wei

Wayne B Nelson

Li Wen

A radiation detector is provided that provides fast sequential image acquisition. In one embodiment, the radiation detector a diode capacitor that is charged in response to a radiation exposure event. The charge stored in the diode capacitor is transferred to a separate storage capacitor, allowing a new charge to be generated and stored at the diode capacitor.

Radiation detector for use in sequential image acquisition

An apparatus for reducing photodiode thermal gain coefficient includes a bulk semiconductor material having a light-illumination side. The bulk semiconductor material includes a minority charge carrier diffusion length property configured to substantially match a predetermined hole diffusion length value and a thickness configured to substantially match a predetermined photodiode layer thickness. The apparatus also includes a dead layer coupled to the light-illumination side of the bulk semiconductor material, the dead layer having a thickness configured to substantially match a predetermined thickness value and wherein an absolute value of a thermal coefficient of gain due to the minority carrier diffusion length property of the bulk semiconductor material is configured to substantially match an absolute value of a thermal coefficient of gain due to the thickness of the dead layer.

Apparatus for reducing photodiode thermal gain coefficient

Apparatus for reducing photodiode thermal gain coefficient and method of making same

A sensor array includes a substrate including a front side and a back side, a plurality of transducers fabricated on the front side of the substrate, a plurality of input/output connections positioned on the back side of the substrate, the input/output connections electrically coupled to the transducers, at least one electronic device, and an interposer positioned between the substrate and the electronic device, the interposer including a multilayer interconnect system configured to electrically connect the input/output connections to the electronic device.

Electronic array and methods for fabricating same

An imaging system includes a gantry having a bore therethrough designed to receive a patient being translated through the bore an x-ray source disposed in the gantry and configured to emit x-rays toward the patient, and a detector module disposed in the gantry to receive x-rays attenuated by the patient. The detector module includes a scintillator configured to absorb the x-rays and to convert the x-rays into optical photons, a device configured to receive the optical photons and to convert the optical photons to electrical signals, and an adaptive data acquisition system (DAS) configured to switch an operating mode of the device from a charge integrating mode to a photon counting mode, and vice versa.

Hybrid energy discriminating charge integrating CT detector

A CT detector includes a pixel having a single photodiode and multiple charge storage devices that are alternately stored and read out. The photodiode is a frontlit diode with a pair of capacitors that alternately store charge generated during data acquisition. Multiple pixels are connected to a single readout amplifier. Charge is continuously acquired from each photodiode and stored on the charge storage devices, but such readout is from a single charge storage device at a time. As such, each charge storage device is read out independently, but the charge storage devices are connected to a common readout channel or port.

CT detector photodiode having multiple charge storage devices

A detector module for a CT imaging system includes a scintillator to convert x-rays to optical photons. The scintillator is optically coupled to a solid-state photomultiplier with internal gain to receive the optical photons and convert them into a corresponding electrical signal output.

Photon counting CT detector using solid-state photomultiplier and scintillator

A method for fabricating an imaging array includes forming a first dielectric barrier, forming a light block element on the first dielectric barrier, wherein the light block element is at least coextensive with a gate, and forming a second dielectric barrier on the first dielectric barrier and the light block element such that the light block element is encapsulated between the first dielectric barrier and the second dielectric barrier.

Imaging array

An optical mask layer for a CT detector is disclosed and is disposed between the photodiode array and scintillator array of a CT detector. The optical mask layer, which may extend along the x-axis, z-axis, or both, is designed to absorb and/or reflect light emitted the scintillators of the scintillator array. Through this absorption and/or reflection, transference of light photons from a scintillator to the photodiode corresponding to a neighboring scintillator is reduced. This reduction in cross-talk reduces artifacts in a reconstructed image and therefore improves the diagnostic value of the image.

CT detector having an optical mask layer

Storage capacitor design for a solid state imager. The imager includes several pixels disposed on a substrate in an imaging array pattern. Each pixel includes a photosensor coupled to a thin film switching transistor. Several scan lines are disposed at a first level with respect to the substrate along a first axis and several data lines are disposed at a second level along a second axis of the imaging array. Several data lines disposed at a second level with respect to the substrate along a second axis of the imaging array pattern. Each pixel comprises a storage capacitor coupled parallel to the photosensor, the storage capacitor comprising a storage capacitor electrode and a capacitor common electrode.

Storage capacitor design for a solid state imager

A solid-state imager with back-side irradiation. The present invention provides a solid-state imager that includes a substantially radiation transparent substrate adapted to receive incident radiation. The radiation travels through the substrate and a pixelated array of photosensitive elements to a scintillator material, which absorbs the radiation. The pixelated array of photosensitive elements receives light photons and measures the amount of light generated by radiation interactions with the scintillator material. With this imager, there is less spreading and blurring and thus a better quality image. In another embodiment, there is a substantially transparent material disposed between the pixelated array of photosensitive elements and the scintillator material. The substantially transparent material absorbs and substantially blocks electrons from entering the active regions of the pixelated array of photosensitive elements. This enables the imager to perform for a longer period of time according to its specifications.

Solid-state radiation imager with back-side irradiation

A light detector includes a plurality of light receiving sections which are formed in a substrate and generate signal charges corresponding to the amount of incident light, and a plurality of wirings which are formed on the substrate and fetch the signal charges from the light receiving sections, wherein at least some of the plurality of wirings are disposed so as to overlap with other light receiving sections different from the light receiving sections connected to fetch the signal charges.

Light detector, radiation detector and radiation tomography apparatus

A method for monitoring the quality of a manufacturing process for making detector panels that have a plurality of pixels in a two-dimensional array includes, in each detector panel, manufacturing a set of baseline pixels and a set of test pixels. Each test pixel has an electrical component having a geometric dimension varied by an amount sufficient to introduce a measurable variation in a test that measures parameters of pixels that are dependent upon the varied dimension. The method further includes performing the test on the set of baseline pixels and the set of varied pixels, analyzing the results of the test, and adjusting parameters of the manufacturing process in accordance with the analysis.

Method for monitoring production of pixel detectors and detectors produced thereby

A radiation detector includes a top gate thin film transistor (TFT) including a source electrode, a drain electrode, a gate electrode, a first dielectric layer, and a second dielectric layer, wherein the second dielectric layer is extending over a surface of the first dielectric layer. The radiation detector also includes a capacitor that includes at least two electrodes and a dielectric layer. The capacitor dielectric layer is formed unitarily with the TFT second dielectric layer.

Imaging array and methods for fabricating same

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Schenectady, NY, United States of America

George E Possin