Detectors

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we develop detectors for specific applications at synchrotrons and XFELs and do detector research

The detector group of the Photon Science Division has a long standing history in the development of single photon counting X-ray hybrid detectors for synchrotrons. The development started with MYTHEN and PILATUS and we are now working on the next generation of single photon counting detectors (EIGER).

We are also involved in the development of charge integrating X-ray pixel detectors for XFELs. We are part of the AGIPD consortium for the development of the AGIPD detector for the european XFEL, we are developing the GOTTHARD microstrip detector and we also started with JUNGFRAU, a new pixel detector for Swissfel.

More information about the individual detectors can be found on the projects pages.

Our main interests in detector research are the optimization of position resolution by making pixels smaller and by using the charge sharing effect to obtain the maximum information about the absorption position of the photon. For this we have also done a lot of studies of the charge sharing itself mainly on microstrip detectors and we are now developing the MOENCH pixel detector with 25um pitch and capable of interpolating in 2D. We are also working on new sensor materials to increase the efficiency at higher energies by using high-Z sensor materials (CdTe) or thick Si sensors.

More information on this topic can be found on the research pages.

laminography chip

3D imaging for planar samples with zooming

Researchers of the Paul Scherrer Institut have previously generated 3-D images of a commercially available computer chip. This was achieved using a high-resolution tomography method. Now they extended their imaging approach to a so-called laminography geometry to remove the requirement of preparing isolated samples, also enabling imaging at various magnification. For ptychographic X-ray laminography (PyXL) a new instrument was developed and built, and new data reconstruction algorithms were implemented to align the projections and reconstruct a 3D dataset. The new capabilities were demonstrated by imaging a 16 nm FinFET integrated circuit at 18.9 nm 3D resolution at the Swiss Light Source. The results are reported in the latest edition of the journal Nature Electronics. The imaging technique is not limited to integrated circuits, but can be used for high-resolution 3D imaging of flat extended samples. Thus the researchers start now to exploit other areas of science ranging from biology to magnetism.

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