Simage Oy

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Jouni I Pyyhtia

Konstantinos E Spartiotis

Risto O Orava

Tom Gunnar Schulman

Miltiadis Evangelos Sarakinos

Panu Y Jalas

An imaging device comprises a semiconductor substrate including an array of pixel cells. Each pixel cell comprising an individually addressable pixel circuit for accumulating charge resulting from radiation incident on a pixel detector. The pixel circuit and the pixel detector can either be implemented on a single substrate, or on two substrates bonded together. The charge storage device can be a transistor, for example one of a pair of FET transistors connected as a cascade amplification stage. An imaging plane can be made up of one imaging device or a plurality of imaging devices tiled to form a mosaic. The imaging devices may be configured as a slot for certain applications, the slit or slot being scanned over the imaging plane. Control electronics can include addressing logic for addressing individual pixel circuits for reading accumulated charge from the pixel circuits. Imaging optimization can be achieved by determining maximum and minimum charge values for pixels for display, assigning extreme grey scale or color values to the maximum and minimum charge values and allocating grey scale or color values to an individual pixel according to a sliding scale between the extreme values. Scattered radiation can be detected and discarded by comparing the detected pixel value to a threshold value related to a minimum detected charge value expected for directly incident radiation and discarding detected pixel values less than said threshold value.

Imaging devices, systems and methods

A semiconductor radiation imaging device includes an array of pixel cells having an array of pixel detectors which directly generate charge in response to incident radiation and a corresponding array of individually-addressable pixel circuits. Each pixel circuit is associated with a respective pixel detector for accumulating charge directly resulting from radiation incident on the pixel detector and includes threshold circuitry and charge accumulation circuitry. The threshold circuitry is configured to discard radiation hits on the pixel detector outside a predetermined threshold range, and the charge accumulation circuit is configured to accumulate charge directly resulting from a plurality of successive radiation hits on the respective pixel detector within the predetermined threshold range.

Semiconductor radiation imaging device including threshold circuitry

An imaging support for supporting a plurality of imaging device tiles at respective tile mounting locations to define a tiled imaging surface is provided. Each of the imaging device tiles has a semiconductor detector with a plurality of pixel cells coupled to a semiconductor substrate with a corresponding plurality of pixel circuits. The semiconductor detector and the semiconductor substrate are carried on a mount having an imaging device tile contact. The imaging support is configured for mounting each of the imaging device tiles on the imaging support in a non-destructive, removable manner at respective tile mounting locations, each of which includes an imaging support contact at a contact position. Each of the imaging support contacts are configured to cooperate with a respective imaging device tile contact, wherein the imaging device tile contact and the imaging support contact enable a signal of a type selected from a group consisting of a supply, a control signal and a readout signal to be transferred between the imaging device tile and the imaging support.

Imaging support for removably mounting an imaging device

A method, suitable for forming metal contacts on a semiconductor substrate at positions for defining radiation detector cells, includes the steps of forming one or more layers of material on a surface of the substrate with openings to the substrate surface at the contact positions; forming a layer of metal over the layer(s) of material and the openings; and removing metal overlying the layer(s) of material to separate individual contacts. Optionally, a passivation layer to be left between individual contacts on the substrate surface may be applied. Etchants used for removing unwanted gold (or other contact matter) are preferably prevented from coming into contact with the surface of the substrate, thereby avoiding degradation of the resistive properties of the substrate.

Forming contacts on semiconductor substrates radiation detectors and

A radiographic imaging system includes a plurality of radiation imaging devices arranged in a plurality of columns. The plurality of columns are tiled together to form a mosaic, with imaging devices in adjacent columns being offset from one another in a columnar direction. A radiation source is provided to irradiate an object to be imaged. An absorption grid is disposed between the radiation source and the mosaic, shielding a portion of the object to be imaged from radiation emitted by the radiation source.

Radiographic imaging devices, systems and methods

An imaging support for supporting imaging devices in respective positions to define an imaging surface is arranged to permit the imaging devices to be removably mounted on the support in a non-destructive, removable manner. In one embodiment the removable mounting is achieved by providing a source of reduced air pressure behind the imaging devices on the imaging support to suck the imaging devices onto the imaging support so that the imaging devices are accurately located on the support in a removable, non-destructive manner. The imaging devices are removable without damage to the device to be removed, the surrounding devices or the support. Defective devices can readily and quickly be replaced. Correctly functioning imaging devices can easily be removed and re-used on the same or a different imaging support.

Imaging support for removably mounting an image device

A semiconductor high-energy radiation imaging device having an array of pixel cells includes a semiconductor detector substrate and a semiconductor readout substrate. The semiconductor detector substrate includes an array of pixel detector cells, each of which directly generates charge in response to incident high-energy radiation. The semiconductor readout substrate includes an array of individually addressable pixel circuits, each of which is connected to a corresponding pixel detector cell to form a pixel cell. Each pixel circuit includes charge accumulation circuitry for accumulating charge directly resulting from high-energy radiation incident on a corresponding pixel detector cell, readout circuitry for reading the accumulated charge, and reset circuitry for resetting the charge accumulation circuitry. The charge accumulation circuitry has a charge storage capacity sufficient to store at least 1.8 million electrons for accumulating charge directly resulting from a plurality of successive high-energy radiation hits on the corresponding pixel dectector cell prior to readout or resetting of the charge accumulation circuitry.

Growing community of inventors

Vantaa, Finland

Jouni I Pyyhtia