title: X-ray imaging with amorphous selenium: pulse height measurements of avalanche gain fluctuations.
abstract: Avalanche multiplication in amorphous selenium (a-Se) can provide a large, adjustable gain for active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI), enabling quantum noise limited x-ray imaging during both radiography and fluoroscopy. In the case of direct conversion AMFPI, the multiplication factor for each x ray is a function of its depth of interaction, and the resulting variations in gain can reduce the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of the system. An experimental method was developed to measure gain fluctuations by analyzing images of individual x rays that were obtained using a video camera with an a-Se target operated in avalanche mode. Pulse height spectra (PHS) of the charge produced per x ray were recorded for monoenergetic 30.9, 49.4, and 73.8 keV x-ray sources. The rapid initial decay and long tail of each PHS can be explained by a model in which positive charge dominates the initiation of avalanche. The Swank information factor quantifies the effect of gain fluctuation on DQE and was calculated from the PHS. The information factor was found to be 0.5 for a 25 microm a-Se layer with a maximum gain of approximately 300. Changing the energy of the incident x ray influenced the range of the primary photoelectron and noticeably affected the tail of the experimental PHS, but did not significantly change the avalanche Swank factor.
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Imaging Research, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada. brian.lui@sri.utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Brian J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reznik
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanioka
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rowlands
mesh_terms: D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012643:Selenium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014963:X-Ray Intensifying Screens
chemical_list: D012643:Selenium