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

Abstract

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,(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,(t) are formed as weighted sums of the signals q,(t) from the stripe j and a combination of its near neighbors. One or another of these signals Q,(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.