Advances in array detectors for X-ray diffraction techniques

Improved focal plane array detector systems are described which can provide improved readout speeds, random addressing and even be employed to simultaneously measure position, intensity and energy. This latter capability promises to rekindle interests in Laue techniques. Simulations of three varieties of foil mask spectrometer in both on- and off-axis configurations indicate that systems of stacked silicon detectors can provide energy measurements within 1% of the true value based on the use of single 'foils' and similar to 10000 photons. An eight-detector hybrid design can provide energy coverage from 4 to 60 keV. Energy resolution can be improved by increased integration time or higher flux experiments. An off-axis spectrometer design in which the angle between the incident beam and the detector system is 45 degrees results in a shift in the optimum energy response of the spectrometer system. In the case of a 200 mu m-thick silicon absorber, the energy optimum shifts from 8.7 keV to 10.3 keV as the angle of incidence goes from 0 to 45 degrees. These new designs make better use of incident photons, lower the impact of source flicker through simultaneous rather than sequential collection of intensities, and improve the energy range relative to previously reported systems.