Compact four-layer Timepix-based particle tracker WidePIX 3D: the first applications in X-ray CT imaging

AbstraktAbstract

WidePIX 3D is a compact Timepix-based particle tracking detector with 3D position sensitivity. The device consists of four Timepix chips with 300 μm silicon sensors tightly stacked together. The sensor volume is, therefore, divided into a 3D array of 256 × 256 × 4 voxels. Dual-energy X-ray imaging with sandwich detector is already known as single-shot dual-energy X-ray radiography utilizing a two-layer detector. In the case of WidePIX 3D, the detector can provide up to four sample images produced by different photon spectra from a single exposure. Furthermore, the detection threshold of each layer can be individually adjusted to optimize the resolving performance for elements expected within the scanned sample. In this contribution we present the first results of using the WidePIX 3D detector as an imaging camera for multi-channel energy-sensitive X-ray CT. The procedure of precise threshold-energy calibration of the detector using characteristic X-ray lines will be described and material-resolving CT data will be demonstrated.

WidePIX 3D is a compact Timepix-based particle tracking detector with 3D position sensitivity. The device consists of four Timepix chips with 300 μm silicon sensors tightly stacked together. The sensor volume is, therefore, divided into a 3D array of 256 × 256 × 4 voxels. Dual-energy X-ray imaging with sandwich detector is already known as single-shot dual-energy X-ray radiography utilizing a two-layer detector. In the case of WidePIX 3D, the detector can provide up to four sample images produced by different photon spectra from a single exposure. Furthermore, the detection threshold of each layer can be individually adjusted to optimize the resolving performance for elements expected within the scanned sample. In this contribution we present the first results of using the WidePIX 3D detector as an imaging camera for multi-channel energy-sensitive X-ray CT. The procedure of precise threshold-energy calibration of the detector using characteristic X-ray lines will be described and material-resolving CT data will be demonstrated.