The "PiXirad-1" module mounts easily on the 4-circle diffractometer at the A2 endstation, and is fully integrated into SPEC control. First-ever synchrotron tests and user experiments using the PiXirad were performed at CHESS during 2013. The defining advantage of this unit is the use of a CdTe crystal sensor instead of Si, which gives the PiXirad very high detection efficiency (> 90%) for photons with energies greater than 50 keV. This, combined with the inherently low noise of the single-photon-couting approach and a capability for fast-framing, makes for a uniquely useful detector for high energy single crystal diffraction. Early PiXirad experiments have focused on mapping charge-density modulations in high-Tc superconductors and diffuse phonon scattering in thermoelectric materials. CHESS staff are in negotiations with the manufacturer in an effort to develop a next generation version of this detector, which would be ~ 4X larger and offer in-pixel energy discrimination up to 100 keV.
The specifications for the PiXirad-1 are attached below:
| Maximum frame rate: Pixel pitch: No. of Pixels: Active area: Well depth: Linear counting: |
100 Hz 60 microns X 52 microns 512 X 476 30.7 mm X 24.7 mm 15 bit < 2e5 photons / pixel / sec |