Experimental evaluation of a-Se and CdTe flat-panel X-ray detectors for digital radiography and fluoroscopy

Described are two types of direct-detection flat-panel X-ray detectors utilizing amorphous selenium (a-Se) and cadmium telluride (CdTe). The a-Se detector is fabricated using direct deposition onto a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, whereas the CdTe detector is fabricated using a novel hybrid method, in which CdTe is pre-deposited onto a glass substrate and then connected to a TFT substrate. The detector array format is 512x512 with a pixel pitch of 150 mu m. The imaging properties of both detectors have been evaluated with respect to X-ray sensitivity, lag, spatial resolution, and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). The modulation transfer functions (MTFs) measured at 1 1p/mm were 0.96 for a-Se and 0.65 for CdTe. The imaging lags after 33 ms were about 4% for a-Se and 22% for CdTe. The DQE values measured at zero spatial frequency were 0.75 for a-Se and 0.22 for CdTe. The results indicate that the a-Se and CdTe detectors have high potential as new digital X-ray imaging devices for both radiography and fluoroscopy.