An x-ray imaging pixel detector based on a scintillating guides screen

We have developed and preliminary tested a new digital X-ray imaging sensor based on a scintillating guide screen. The scintillating guides are used t o channel the emitted visible light to the pixel detector. This enables us to avoid the well-known tradeoff between detection efficiency and spatial r esolution which is encountered when a non-patterned scintillating layer is used on top of a CCD. A prototype has been fabricated using microtechnologies. The scintillator i s CsI:T1 and the low-index cladding material used to channel the light is s ilicon dioxide. The performance of this prototype has been compared to that of a thick CsI single crystal. The results concerning the spatial resoluti on are quite promising and demonstrate a proof-of-principle. However, the p erformance in terms of signal to noise ratio and sensitivity have to be imp roved. These problems are currently addressed.