Mid Sweden University

Simulations in Medici are performed to quantify crosstalk and charge sharing in a hybrid pixelated silicon detector. Crosstalk and charge sharing degrades the spatial and spectral resolution of single photon processing X-ray imaging systems. For typical medical X-ray imaging applications, the process is dominated by charge sharing between the pixels in the sensor. For heavier particles each impact generates a large amount of charge and the simulation seems to over predict the charge collection efficiency. This indicates that some type of non modelled degradation of the charge transport efficiency exists, like the plasma effect where the plasma might shield the generated charges from the electric field and hence distorts the charge transport process. Based on the simulations it can be reasoned that saturation of the amplifiers in the Timepix system might generate crosstalk that increases the charge spread measured from ion impact on the sensor.

A newly constructed solid state silicon dose profile detector is characterized concerning its sensitive profile. The use of the MEDIPIX2 sensor system displays an excellent method to align an image of an X-ray slit to a sample under test. The scanning from front to reverse side of the detector, show a decrease in sensitivity of 20%, which indicates a minority charge carrier lifetime of 0.18 ms and a diffusion length of 460 μm. The influence of diced edges results in a volumetric efficiency of 59%, an active volume of 1.2 mm 2 of total 2.1 mm2.

Pixel detectors based on photon counting or single photon processing readout are becoming popular for spectral X-ray imaging. The detector is based on deep submicron electronics with functions to determine the energy of each individual photon in every pixel. The system is virtually noiseless when it comes to the number of the detected photons. However noise and variations in system parameters affect the determination of the photon energy. Several factors affect the energy resolution in the system. In the readout electronics the most important factors are the threshold dispersion, the gain variation and the electronic noise. In the sensor contributions come from charge sharing, variations in the charge collection efficiency, leakage current and the statistical nature of the charge generation, as described by the Fano factor. The MEDIPIX technology offers a powerful tool for investigating these effects since energy spectra can be captured in each pixel. In addition the TIMEPIX chip, when operated in Time over Threshold mode, offers an opportunity to analyze individual photon interactions, thus addressing charge sharing and fluorescence. Effects of charge sharing and the properties of charge summing can be investigated using MEDIPIX3RX. Experiments are performed using both Si and CdTe detectors. In this paper we discuss the various contributions to the spectral noise and how they affect detector response. The statements are supported with experimental data from MEDIPIX-type detectors.

PERCIVAL ("Pixelated Energy Resolving CMOS Imager, Versatile And Large") is a monolithic active pixel sensor (MAPS) based on CMOS technology. Is being developed by DESY, RAL/STFC, Elettra, DLS, and PAL to address the various requirements of detectors at synchrotron radiation sources and Free Electron Lasers (FELs) in the soft X-ray regime. These requirements include high frame rates and FELs base-rate compatibility, large dynamic range, single-photon counting capability with low probability of false positives, high quantum efficiency (QE), and (multi-)megapixel arrangements with good spatial resolution. Small-scale back-side-illuminated (BSI) prototype systems are undergoing detailed testing with X-rays and optical photons, in preparation of submission of a larger sensor. A first BSI processed prototype was tested in 2014 and a preliminary result—first detection of 350eV photons with some pixel types of PERCIVAL—reported at this meeting a year ago. Subsequent more detailed analysis revealed a very low QE and pointed to contamination as a possible cause. In the past year, BSI-processed chips on two more wafers were tested and their response to soft X-ray evaluated. We report here the improved charge collection efficiency (CCE) of different PERCIVAL pixel types for 400eV soft X-rays together with Airy patterns, response to a flat field, and noise performance for such a newly BSI-processed prototype sensor.

Considerable interest has been manifested for the use of high-brilliance X-ray synchrotron sources and X-ray Free-Electron Lasers for the investigation of samples.

Quality control is an important issue in the paperboard industry. A typical sheet of paperboard contains a core of cellulose fibers [C6H10O5], coated on one or both sides with layers of calcium carbonate [CaCO3] or Kaolin [Al2Si2O5(OH)4]. One of the major properties of a good quality paperboard is the consistency of the expected ratio between the thickness of the core and the coating layers. A measurement system to obtain this ratio could assist the paperboard industry to monitor the quality of their products in an automatic manner. In this work, the thicknesses of the core and the coating layers on a paperboard with coating layer on only one side were measured using an X-ray imaging technique. However, the limited spectral and spatial resolution offered by the measurement system being used led to the measured thicknesses of the layers being lower than their actual thicknesses in the paperboard sample. Suggestions have been made in relation to overcoming these limitations and to enhance the performance of the method. A Monte Carlo N-particle code simulation has been used in order to verify the suggested method.

Recent advancements in the grating interferometer based Phase Contrast X-ray Imag- ing (PCXI) technique enables high quality dark-field images to be obtained using conventional X-ray tubes. The dark-field images map the scattering inhomogeneities inside objects. Since, the dark-field image is constructed by considering only those photons which are scattered while pass- ing through the objects, it can reveal useful information about the object inner structures, such as, the fibre structures inside paperboards.

The end-use performance of paperboards, such as the printing quality and the stiffness de-pends on the uniformity in the thickness and the structures of the coating layer of the paperboards. The uniformity in the coating layer is determined by the coating techniques, the coating materials and the topography of the base sheet. In this article, the dark-field signals from four paperboard samples with different quality indices are analysed. The isotropic and the anisotropic scattering coefficients for all of the samples have been calculated. Based on the correlation between the isotropic coefficients and the quality indices of the paperboards, a new method for paperboard quality measurement has been suggested.

An X-ray based quality inspection method for paperboard was implemented and tested as a fast and non-destructive alternative to the burnout method. An argument against X-ray imaging for inspection of paper and paperboard has been that X-ray absorption is low in paper. To overcome this limitation, we used phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI), which gives higher contrast than conventional attenuation-based imaging for low-absorbing materials such as paper. The suggested PCXI method was applied to previously prepared and quality rated samples using the burnout method. A strong similarity between the burnout images and the PCXI images was observed. In conclusion, further development of the phase-contrast X-ray method would provide an interesting option for replacing or complementing the standard burnout method.

With the rapid growth in population and the overwhelming demand of industrial consumer products around the world, the amount of generated wastes is also increasing. Therefore, the optimal utilization of wastes and the waste management policies are very important in order to protect the environment[1]. The most common way of waste management is to dispose them into city dumps and landfills. These disposal sites may produce toxic and green house gases and also a substantial amount of leachate, which can affect the environment[2]. Leachate is liquid, which, while percolating through wastes in a landfill, extracts soluble and suspended solids. Leachate contains toxic and harmful substances, such as Chromium (Cr), Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, Benzene, Chloroform and Methylene Chloride, and can contaminate surface water and aquifers.