Direct charge sharing observation in single-photon-counting pixel detector

In photon-counting imaging devices, charge sharing can limit the detector spatial resolution and contrast, as multiple counts can be induced in adjacent pixels as a result of the spread of the charge cloud generated from a single X-ray photon of high energy in the detector bulk. Although debated for a long time, the full impact of charge sharing has not been completely assessed. In this work, the importance of charge sharing in pixellated CdTe and silicon detectors is studied by exposing imaging devices to different low activity sources. These devices are made of Si and CdTe pixel detector bump-bonded to Medipix2 single-photon-counting chips with a 55 mu m pixel pitch. We will show how charge sharing affects the spatial detector resolution depending on incident particle type (alpha, beta and gamma), detector bias voltage and read-out chip threshold. This study will give an insight on the impact on the design and operation of pixel detectors coupled to photon-counting devices for imaging applications. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.