Characteristic evaluation of a novel CdTe photon counting detector for X-ray imaging

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of a novel cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photon counting detector optimized for X-ray imaging applications. CdTe was studied as a potential detector material for hard X-ray and gamma-ray detection. In this study, we used a CdTe photon counting detector manufactured by AJAT Ltd. (PID 350, Finland) for the purposes of both X-ray and gamma-ray detection. However, it is noted that X-ray detection can be limited by the characteristics of gamma-ray detectors. For the investigation of the characteristics of a detector for X-ray imaging, the detector has been studied in terms of detector calibration, count rate, and pixel sensitivity variation by using a poly-energetic X-ray. The detector calibration was evaluated to determine the effects of offset, gain, and energy. An optimal calibration increases the accuracy of the output energy spectrum. The pixel sensitivity variation was evaluated using profiles of various rows and columns from white (with X-ray) and dark (without X-ray) images. The specific trend of each image was observed around the edges of the hybrids. These pixel variations of the CdTe sensor were corrected. The image quality was improved by using the optimal correction method based on an understanding of the pixel sensitivity variation. The maximum recorded count rate of the detector was measured in all pixels. The count rate was measured by setting the energy windows from just above the noise level to the maximum energy. The average count rate was fairly linear up to 1.6 × 106 cps/8 modules and saturated at about 2.2 × 106 cps/8 modules. In this paper, we present several characteristics of the detector and demonstrate the improved spectrum and image obtained after calibration and correction. These results show that the novel CdTe photon counting detector can be used in conventional X-ray imaging, but exhibits limitations when applied to spectral X-ray imaging.