First experimental tests with a CdTe photon counting pixel detector hybridized with a Medipix2 readout chip

We present preliminary tests of hybrid pixel detectors consisting of the Medipix2 readout chip bump-bonded to a 1-mm-thick CdTe pixel detector. This room temperature imaging system for single photon counting has been developed within the Medipix2 European Collaboration for various imaging applications with X-rays and gamma rays, including dental radiography, mammography, synchrotron radiation, nuclear medicine, and radiation monitoring in nuclear facilities. The Medipix2 + CdTe hybrid detector features 256 × 256 square pixels, a pitch of 55 μm, a sensitive area of 14×14 mm². We analyzed the quality of the detector and bump-bonding and the response to nuclear radiation of the first CdTe hybrids. The CdTe pixel detectors, with Pt ohmic contacts, showed an ohmic response when negatively biased up to less than 60 V (electrons collection mode). Tests were also performed in holes collection mode, where a nonresistive behavior was observed above +15 V. We performed a series of imaging tests at low voltage bias with gamma radioactive sources and with an X-ray tube. Under uniform irradiation, we observed for all detectors the presence of numerous, stable structures in the form of small circles of about 200 μm diameter, with the central pixels showing a reduced counting efficiency with respect to the periphery (in electrons counting regime). Also long filament structures have been observed. Further investigations will reveal whether they are due to an intrinsic detector response (e.g., due to Te inclusions) or to the bump-bonding process.