公开(公告)号：US5528043A

公开(公告)日：1996-06-18

申请号：US426691

申请日：1995-04-21

申请人： Brett Spivey ,  Peter Martin ,  Lee Morsell ,  Eugene Atlas ,  Anthony Pellegrino

发明人： Brett Spivey ,  Peter Martin ,  Lee Morsell ,  Eugene Atlas ,  Anthony Pellegrino

IPC分类号： A61B6/00 ,  H01L27/146 ,  H04N5/32 ,  G01T1/24 ,  H01L27/14

CPC分类号： H04N5/367 ,  A61B6/4233 ,  A61B6/482 ,  A61B6/502 ,  A61B6/505 ,  H01L27/146 ,  H01L27/14658 ,  H04N5/32 ,  A61B6/4035

摘要： This invention provides an imaging system for producing images from electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays. The system includes a detector comprised of a radiation-absorbing layer sandwiched between an array of CMOS integrated circuits (which we call pixel circuits) and a surface electrode layer transparent to the radiation. Each of the pixel circuits in the array has a charge collecting electrode. An external voltage applied between the surface electrode layer and the charge collecting electrodes produces an electric field across the thickness of the absorbing layer. Radiation passing through the transparent surface electrode layer is absorbed in the absorbing layer creating electron/hole pairs in the absorbing layer. A portion of the liberated holes (or electrons) migrates under the influence of the electric field toward the charge collecting electrodes, which collect the holes and store them as charges on small capacitors located within each circuit. This process results in a discrete distribution of stored voltages across the array proportional to the distribution of radiation photons incident on the absorbing layer. Circuitry in each pixel provides for the voltage on each pixel capacitor to be recorded via readout circuitry and permits the resetting of the pixel capacitors. Preferred embodiments provide fine resolution with a large number of pixels with dimensions about the size of the thickness of human hair.

摘要翻译： 本发明提供了一种用于从诸如x射线的电磁辐射产生图像的成像系统。 该系统包括由夹在CMOS集成电路阵列之间的辐射吸收层（我们称之为像素电路）和对辐射透明的表面电极层的检测器。 阵列中的每个像素电路具有电荷收集电极。 施加在表面电极层和电荷收集电极之间的外部电压在吸收层的厚度上产生电场。 通过透明表面电极层的辐射被吸收层吸收，从而在吸收层中产生电子/空穴对。 释放的空穴（或电子）的一部分在电场的影响下迁移到电荷收集电极，电荷收集电极收集空穴并将它们作为电荷存储在位于每个电路内的小电容器上。 该过程导致阵列上存储的电压的离散分布与入射在吸收层上的辐射光子的分布成比例。 每个像素中的电路提供通过读出电路记录的每个像素电容器上的电压，并允许像素电容器的复位。 优选实施例提供具有大约人头发厚度尺寸的大量像素的精细分辨率。