Development of a multi-detector readout circuitry for ultrahigh energy resolution single-photon imaging applications

In this paper, we present the design and preliminary performance evaluation of a novel external multi-channel readout circuitry for small-pixel room-temperature semiconductor detectors, namely CdZnTe (CZT) and CdTe, that provide an excellent intrinsic spatial (250 and 500μm pixel size) and an ultrahigh energy resolution (∼1% at 122 keV) for X-ray and gamma-ray imaging applications. An analog front-end printed circuit board (PCB) was designed and developed for data digitization, data transfer and ASIC control of pixelated CZT or CdTe detectors. Each detector unit is 2 cm × 2 cm in size and 1 or 2 mm in thickness, being bump-bonded onto a HEXITEC ASIC, and wire-bonded to a readout detector module PCB. The detectors’ front-end is then connected, through flexible cables of up to 10 m in length, to a remote data acquisition system that interfaces with a PC through USB3.0 connection. We present the design and performance of a prototype multi-channel readout system that can read out up to 24 detector modules synchronously. Our experimental results demonstrated that the readout circuitry offers an ultrahigh spectral resolution (0.8 keV at 60 keV and 1.05 keV at 122 keV) with the Cd(Zn)Te/HEXITEC ASIC modules tested. This architecture was designed to allow easy expansion to accommodate a larger number of detector modules, and the flexibility of arranging the detector modules in a large and deformable detector array without degrading the excellent energy resolution.