X-ray imaging using single photon processing with semiconductor pixel detectors

More than 10 years experience with semiconductor pixel detectors for vertex detection in high energy physics experiments together with the steady progress in CMOS technology opened the way for the development of single photon processing pixel detectors for various applications including medical X-ray imaging. The state of the art of such pixel devices consists of pixel dimensions as small as 55x55 um2, electronic noise per pixel <100 e- rms, signal-to-noise discrimination levels around 1000 e- with a spread <50 e- and a dynamic range up to 32 bits per pixel. Moreover, the high granularity of hybrid pixel detectors makes it possible to probe inhomogeneities of the attached semiconductor sensor.