GE a-Si flat-panel detector performance in industrial digital radiography

The General Electric (GE) Revolution(TM) family of a-Si flat-panel digital X-ray detectors demonstrate outstanding sensitivity and resolution. The DXR-500 version, with 100-micron pixel pitch, has sufficient resolution to provide MTF over 20% at 5 lp/mm in a variety of industrial digital radiography applications. This detector exhibits linear performance over a wide range of exposure, from much less than 1 mR to over 60 mR incident dose at 80 W with 0.322 cm of A1 beam filtration. Noise performance is dominated by photon counting statistics, allowing effective frame averaging in challenging applications. The available image contrast from the new detectors depends on the X-ray energy selected, the dose captured, and the number of frames averaged. In practice, the desired image quality is balanced against the throughput requirements of the application. However, the total exposure time required with the detector typically is much less than that employed for industrial film applications, and can be as little as 10-20% that of the film exposure while maintaining comparable or improved image quality Thus, in film replacement applications, the dose efficiency of the detectors allows for extremely short exposure times and correspondingly high throughput in high-volume applications. This efficiency makes microfocus radiography practical when higher spatial resolution is required. These features enable inspection systems using these devices to provide excellent return on in vestment rates and short payback periods in a wide range of industrial applications.