A VXI-BASED HIGH-SPEED X-RAY CCD DETECTOR

For time-resolved X-ray scattering, one ideally wants a high speed det ector that also is capable of giving position sensitive information. C harge Coupled Devices (CCDs) have been used successfully as X-ray dete ctors. Unfortunately, they are inherently slow because of the serial r eadout. EEV has developed a CCD that has eight channels of parallel re adout, thus increasing the speed eightfold. Using state-of-the-art VXI electronics, we have developed a readout system that could read the e ntire array in 2.5 ms using a 20-MHz readout clock. For testing and ch aracterization, the device was clocked at a significantly slower speed of 30 kHz. The data are preamplified, and all eight channels of outpu t are simultaneously digitized to 12 bits and stored in buffer memory. The system is controlled by a 486-based PC through an MXI bus' and VX I controller using commerically available software. The system is also capable of real-time image display and manipulation.