New developments in the field of silicon detectors for digital radiology

In the last few years the interest for application of silicon radiation detectors to the detection of X-rays in the 15–30 keV region has been growing. One of the main reasons of such an interest is the development of devices for medical and biological applications, in particular for the diagnostic radiology of soft tissues. For these applications, to ensure a high detection efficiency is of crucial importance. This leads to the use of “on purpose” geometrical arrangements and technological solutions for the detector, as well as the use of specifically designed read-out electronics. In this paper we present results and images obtained with silicon microstrip detectors in a “pixel-like” geometry, with the X-ray beam impinging parallel to the strips. An efficiency close to 80% has been obtained for photons of energies around 20 keV. The ongoing developments, concerning the realisation of a dedicated silicon detector for digital radiology at the SYRMEP (SYnchrotron Radiation for MEdical Physics) beam line of the ELETTRA synchrotron radiation facility, are described.