A monolithic array of silicon drift detectors coupled to a single scintillator for γ-ray imaging with sub-millimeter position resolution

In this work, we present a monolithic array of 19 silicon drift detectors (SDDs) used as photodetectors of the scintillation light in position sensitive γ-ray detectors. In this array, having a total sensitive area of about 1 cm2, each SDD has a front-end JFET directly integrated on the detector chip, close to the collecting anode. The low electronic noise offered by each single unit allows to reach a sub-millimeter position resolution by coupling the SDD array to a single CsI(Tl) scintillator crystal in a “mini”-Anger camera scheme. In the paper, a detection module based on the SDD array is described and the noise performances are reported. Moreover, the results in terms of position resolution obtained with the mini Anger Camera realized with the SDD module are presented.