AN OVERVIEW OF THE HYBRID SILICON PIXEL ARRAY TUBE TECHNOLOGY FOR POSITION-SENSITIVE PHOTON DETECTION

The Imaging Silicon Pixel Array (ISPA)-tube is a new kind of position- sensitive photon detector based on the hybrid technology. It combines the best aspects of image intensification with new possibilities offer ed by integrated electronics. In the place of the imaging phosphor scr een as with conventional image intensifiers, the anode of the ISPA-tub e is a matrix of small silicon pixels directly detecting, with a high spatial resolution, electrons emitted by a photocathode. Since the pix els are individually connected to an integrated electronic read-out ch ip, the tube features high gain, low noise and reaches single-photon s ensitivity. This paper gives a brief overview of the ISPA-tube technol ogy and its application fields with particular emphasis on gamma ray i maging. It concludes with the design trends for the next generation of tubes.