X-rays microdetectors based on an array of scintillators : a maskless process u...

• Author(s): Rocha, J. G. ; Moreira, M. V. ; Wolffenbuttel, R. F. ; Ramos, N. F. ; Lanceros-Méndez, S. ; Correia, J. H.
• Date: 2002
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/4314
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Scintillator; Digital radiology; X-ray; Laser ablation
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

This paper describes a X-rays microdetector based on an array of wells filled with scintillator crystals. A thick-film of aluminum (500 um) is etched by Laser Ablation Technique (LAT) in order to achieve a square well with side of 100 um and 490 um deep vertical sidewalls. The aluminum thick-film was chosen because it is a good reflector in the visible range and for improving the number of photons collected by each photodetector. Also, the cross-talk between adjacent wells is reduced. As first approach, for a 4x4 wells array prototype, LAT is an inexpensive process when compared with Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) and avoids the need of etching masks. In this system the X-ray energy is first converted to visible light by the scintillator. This light is then detected by a photodetector fabricated in a standard CMOS process.