A solid-state amorphous selenium avalanche technology for low photon flux imaging applications

Purpose: The feasibility of a practical solid-state technology for low photon flux imaging applications was investigated. The technology is based on an amorphous selenium photoreceptor with a voltage-controlled avalanche multiplication gain. If this photoreceptor can provide sufficient internal gain...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical physics (Lancaster) 2010-09, Vol.37 (9), p.4982-4985
Main Authors: Wronski, M. M., Zhao, W., Reznik, A., Tanioka, K., DeCrescenzo, G., Rowlands, J. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
amorphous selenium
amorphous semiconductors
Amorphous solids
avalanche breakdown
Avalanche photodiodes
avalanche photoreceptor
biomedical optical imaging
Diagnostic Imaging - methods
digital imaging
Electric Conductivity
Electrodes
elemental semiconductors
leakage currents
Medical image noise
Medical imaging
Medical Physics Letters
photodetectors
Photodetectors (including infrared and CCD detectors)
Photons
Photoreceptors
Plucked stringed instruments
Quantum noise
selenium
Selenium - chemistry
semiconductor detectors
semiconductor device breakdown
Thermal noise
Visual imaging
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Summary:Purpose: The feasibility of a practical solid-state technology for low photon flux imaging applications was investigated. The technology is based on an amorphous selenium photoreceptor with a voltage-controlled avalanche multiplication gain. If this photoreceptor can provide sufficient internal gain, it will be useful for an extensive range of diagnostic imaging systems. Methods: The avalanche photoreceptor under investigation is referred to as HARP-DRL. This is a novel concept in which a high-gain avalanche rushing photoconductor (HARP) is integrated with a distributed resistance layer (DRL) and sandwiched between two electrodes. The avalanche gain and leakage current characteristics of this photoreceptor were measured. Results: HARP-DRL has been found to sustain very high electric field strengths without electrical breakdown. It has shown avalanche multiplication gains as high as 10 4 and a very low leakage current ( ≤ 20   pA / mm 2 ) . Conclusions: This is the first experimental demonstration of a solid-state amorphous photoreceptor which provides sufficient internal avalanche gain for photon counting and photon starved imaging applications.
ISSN:0094-2405
2473-4209
0094-2405
DOI:10.1118/1.3483096