Energy-resolved X-ray radiography with controlled-drift detectors at Sincrotrone Trieste

The Controlled-Drift Detector (CDD) is a fully depleted silicon detector that allows 2-D position sensing and energy spectroscopy of X-rays in the range 1–20 keV with excellent time resolution. Its distinctive feature is the simultaneous readout of the charge packets stored in the detector by means of a uniform electrostatic field leading to readout times of few microseconds. The advantage of this readout mechanism is twofold: (i) a higher frame rate/better time resolution with respect to the charge-coupled device which represents the reference X-ray spectroscopic imager and (ii) a lower contribution of the thermal noise due to a shorter integration time, leading to an excellent energy resolution also at room temperature. In this work we present the first experimental characterization of the CDD with synchrotron light in the range 8–30 keV carried out at Sincrotrone Trieste. Two-dimensional energy-resolved radiographic images carried out at a frame frequency up to 100 kHz are shown. Application of the CDD to elemental absorption contrast imaging is also presented.