Results on a prototype of a large-area X-ray imaging device using CMOS hybrid detectors

This paper presents the first results on a prototype of a large-area X-ray imaging device made out of hybrid CMOS pixel detectors. The challenges of manufacturing and implementing imaging devices on an area larger than the single component size, with a seamless sensitive area, are addressed via a preliminary evaluation of the images. A sensitive area of approximately 6×3 cm2 was built with eight single ASIC chips performing photon counting and bump-bonded to two high-resistivity p-n silicon sensors working in a reverse bias mode. Each chip consists of 256×256 identical square pixels of 55 μm side. The image delivered is a 1024×512-pixel matrix. Dedicated read-out electronics, software and mechanical supports have been developed. We report and discuss the challenges of the system in terms of the resulting quality of static images obtained with a 70 kV X-ray tube.