ABSTRACT
Hybrid single-photon-counting semiconductor detectors exhibit characteristics such as large dynamic range, fast frame rate, and negligible noise above threshold. It can also be used to take advantage of the features of synchrotron radiation to research new technological advances that are directly related to these detectors. The monochromaticity of the delivered synchrotron beam can be used to evaluate the linearity response of the detector, and its high flux can provide information on detector dead time. The radiation hardness of the detector can be obtained by directly exposing it to the white/pink beam. The beam can also be reduced in size to the order of few microns using a compound refractive lens (CRL). The great benefit of characterizing detectors with a synchrotron beam was demonstrated during the development of the Medipix3 Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The Medipix3 ASIC underwent several stages of redesign after initial characterization with a synchrotron beam was used to understand the ASIC performance.
