(1) University of Glasgow, Kelvin Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland.
(2) Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire, UK, OX11 0DE
(3) Instituto de Microelectronica de Barcelona, IMB-CNM-CSIC, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
(4) Science and Technology Facilities Council, Polaris House, North Star Ave., Swindon, UK
Three-dimensional (3D) photodiode detectors offer advantages over standard planar photodiodes in a range of applications, including X-ray detection for synchrotrons and medical imaging. The principal advantage of these sensors for X-ray imaging is their low charge sharing between adjacent pixels, which improves spatial and spectral resolution. A `double-sided' 3D detector has been bonded to a Medipix2 single-photon-counting readout chip, and tested in a monochromatic X-ray beam at the Diamond synchrotron. Tests of the 3D detector's response spectrum and its Line Spread Function have shown that it has substantially lower charge sharing than a standard planar Medipix2 sensor. Additionally, the 3D detector was used to image diffraction rings produced by a powdered silicon sample, demonstrating the detector's use in a standard synchrotron experiment.
Submitted to Journal of Synchrotron Radiation